Please join us as we celebrate the 22nd annual Charles Dickens Dinner!

Start the holiday season in elegance at our black-tie musical gala, with entertainment provided by costumed carolers and instrumentalists, special guest artists and the Thornton Legacy Award recipient.

The 2008 Charles Dickens Dinner will take place on
Friday, December 5, 2008.

The inaugural dinner took place on the USC campus in 1985. Within three years, the event outgrew the campus venue and was relocated to the Crystal Room in the historic Biltmore Hotel, presently named the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. It has since sold out every year, filling the room with 450 guests.

Each year, the Thornton Legacy Award and the John C. Argue Dickens Medal of Honor are presented during the dinner. The Thornton Legacy Award is a lifetime achievement award, honoring a musician for an outstanding career. Originally titled the Magnum Opus Award, Dean Cutietta and the executive staff renamed it in 2006 in honor of the 20th Annual Charles Dickens Dinner and the school’s namesake, Flora L. Thornton. The Legacy Award truly represents artists’ accomplishments throughout their careers; this year Lamont Dozier will be honored with this prestigious award. Previous recipients include Burt Bacharach, Barry Manilow, Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and Walter Matthau.

In 1995, when John and Leah Elizabeth Argue were Dinner Chairs, Mr. Argue suggested that the dinner expand beyond musicians and honor an individual that was making extraordinary contributions to the promotion of the arts in Los Angeles. That year, the first Medals of Honor were presented to Sandi and Sheldon Ausman. Upon the passing of Mr. Argue in 2003, the award was renamed the John C. Argue Dickens Medal of Honor. Following nominations by faculty and the Board of Advisors, recipient individuals or couples are chosen based on their transformational impact on the music community in Southern California through their philanthropic, administrative and leadership abilities.

This year, the award will be presented to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association’s president and chief executive officer, Deborah Borda. Beverly and Herbert M. Gelfand, Carol and Warner Henry, Sherry Lansing and William Friedkin are among past honorees.

All proceeds from the Charles Dickens Dinner support music scholarships at the USC Thornton School of Music. Ranked among the top one percent of music school and conservatories in the United States, Thornton provides more than $5.2 million in need-based and merit scholarships every year. To maintain this leadership role, substantial financial resources are required to provide these scholarships for deserving students. All contributions given at the dinner will be augmented by a generous gift from Dickens benefactor John Herklotz, who has provided a matching scholarship award in memory of his wife, Dale Melbourne Herklotz.

To request an invitation to the Charles Dickens Dinner or make reservations by phone, please call the USC Thornton Development Office at 213-740-6474.