Nicolas Benavides, Angelica Brooks, and Elizabeth Palmer selected for Cleveland Institute of Music’s Future of Music Faculty Fellowship

USC Thornton doctoral candidates Nicolas Benavides and Angelica Brooks, as well as alum Elizabeth Palmer have been selected for the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Future of Music Faculty Fellowship. The initiative is a career development fellowship to elevate Black and Latinx educators within the music academy. 35 music professionals who are pursuing or considering academic careers were chosen for the first cohort, and Thornton has the distinction of having three alums or current students selected.

Benavides is a doctoral candidate in Composition; Brooks, who was recently named one of the 2021 Maryland MMEA Outstanding Music Educators of the Year, is a doctoral candidate in the Music Teaching and Learning program; and Elizabeth Palmer (DMA ’18), an alum in Music Teaching & Learning, is a music teacher in Maryland and founder of Modern Maestro, Inc.