On-Campus Stories
- May 4, 2009
- USC Thornton student Patrick Murray selected as a Fulbright Scholar
- Patrick Murray of Henderson, N.C., will complete his bachelor of music in vocal arts in May. He will spend a year in Vienna, Austria, exploring the lieder of Schubert in which the composer combined the use of different voices. Murray is particularly interested in how the genre of lieder, unlike others, allows the singer to dramatize songs.
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- April 22, 2009
- USC Thornton Symphony musicians involved in the filming of The Soloist
- Sixty musicians from the USC Thornton orchestras were involved in the filming of the new DreamWorks picture The Soloist opening on April 24. The orchestras' music director and past USC Thornton dean, Larry Livingston, said "it’s truly a testament to the high performance level of the Thornton student," and continued by declaring "what better way to authentically portray a renowned arts institution such as Juilliard than with the musical talent of another world-class institution such as Thornton.”
Read the article - April 21, 2009
- American Academy of Arts and Letters inducts Stephen Hartke
- Two USC Distinguished Professors, writer T. Coraghessan Boyle of USC College and composer Stephen Hartke of the USC Thornton School of Music, have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters - a lifetime appointment to an elite club of the nation’s most distinguished practitioners of architecture, art, literature and music. This is the first time that any USC professor has been elected to the academy. USC Thornton dean Robert Cutietta called the academy "certainly the most prestigious cultural institution in America," and went on to say that "our students are fortunate to be able to work with a living legend such as Stephen."
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- April 9, 2009
- USC Thornton celebration begins
- USC Thornton’s quasquicentennial will be celebrated with more than 50 events that will span 125 days, beginning in August. The official launch begins overseas when several USC Thornton chamber music students travel to France to participate in the Franco-Américaines de Musique de Chambre in Missillac, France. On campus, the anniversary kicks off with an all-night “party of the century” on Sept. 10. USC Thornton dean Robert Cutietta will host a reception, followed by a performance by the USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Carl St.Clair at Bovard Auditorium and capped off with a party featuring rock music and dancing in Alumni Park.
Read the article - April 9, 2009
- USC Thornton expansion
- Daily Trojan reported USC Thornton dean Robert Cutietta’s plans for the school’s 48 percent expansion for the next two years. The USC Thornton School of Music will inherit the Marcia Lucas Post-Production building, the Carson Soundstage, and the Harold Lloyd Soundstage from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Once obtained, the Marcia Lucas Building will provide space for a variety of classes, including orchestral performance, popular music, music industry, and film scoring. The Thornton expansion is estimated to be complete by spring 2011. “Right now some students have to go off campus and rent a hall…we hope this eliminates the need for this,” Cutietta said.
Read the article - March 6, 2009
- USC Thornton launches Roland Drumlab
- Daily Trojan reported that the USC Thornton School of Music has partnered with the Roland Corporation to develop the Roland Drumlab, the first of its kind in the nation, which will be paired with the popular music performance degree program to allow students to develop rhythm proficiency. “We are hopeful that maybe we will lead and set an example for other institutions that feel that rhythm instruction is an important part of the musician’s development,” said Chris Sampson, the director of the popular music program.
Read the article - February 26, 2009
- In Memoriam: Wanda Wilk, 88
- USC alumna Wanda Wilk, a philanthropist, educator and patron of Polish music, died in her Los Angeles home on Feb. 18 after a long illness. She was 88. Wilk, along with her husband Dr. Stefan P. Wilk (1917-2008), was a joint founder of the USC Thornton Polish Music Center and also served as the center's director for its first 10 years. After retiring in 1996, she continued as the center’s honorary director, lending advice and support to the two subsequent directors and the staff.
Read the article - February 12, 2009
- USC Shines at the Grammys
- USC News featured an article about the USC Thornton Grammy Award winners. Among the winners were alums Fred Vogler and Gloria Cheng as well as faculty members Gary Woodward, Judith Farmer and James Self, who performed as part of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra ensemble on the album Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, which won Best Classical Album. The article also noted that USC Spirit of Troy student musicians performed with Radiohead at the Awards.
Read the article - February 10, 2009
- Looking Forward to the Sound of Music
- USC News profiled the 21st annual Grammy Career Day, held at USC February 4, 2009 and produced in partnership with the USC Thornton School of Music and the Gibson Foundation. Grammy Career Day hosted more than 1,100 young people who visited campus to learn about the real possibility of a life in music.
Read the article - December 8, 2008
- In Memoriam: Mitchell Lurie, 86
- USC News featured an obituary for Mitchell Lurie, former USC Thornton faculty member and clarinetist, who passed November 24 at the age of 86. Lurie joined USC in 1952 and taught clarinet and woodwind chamber music until several years ago. For more than 20 years, he had similar duties at the Music Academy of the West in the summer, the article noted.
Read the article - October 2008
- America’s Next Top (Role) Model
- USC News featured an article about USC Thornton pianist Pauline Yang, who was recently named by Glamour Magazine among their “Top 10 College Women in America.” The article noted that Yang not only performs on the national and international levels, but she also works to improve people’s lives through music. “As performers and avid supporters of the arts, one of our biggest responsibilities is to not just perform for our own sakes, but to fight to carry on the tradition of classical music, so it doesn’t die away,” Yang stated.
Read the article - September 12, 2008
- Make-A-Wish applicant has wish granted through USC Thornton
- Several local and on-campus stories reported that, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, 17-year-old Bradley Grasl's wish to have a lesson with Professor Yehuda Gilad was granted on September 9, 2008. Bradley spent the day at Thornton, attending one of Professor Gilad's master classes and receiving a private lesson, the articles stated. "I was honored and humbled," said Gilad of being tapped by Grasl to fulfill his wish. "It is a pleasure and privilege to do something for the right reason, with a lot of depth and feeling."
Read the USC news article Read Daily Trojan article - August 22, 2008
- KCET Airs Eleonore Schoenfeld Memoirs
- A documentary on the life of late USC professor Eleonore Schoenfeld was aired on the local PBS station KCET on August 24, 2008, the article noted. The film, entitled "Born to Teach: Reflections on the Career of Cellist Eleonore Schoenfeld," chronicled Schoenfeld's life through images, music, and interviews with her former colleagues and students. “To follow Eleonore’s career is like a portrait of music making and teaching in the 20th century,” said Robert Cutietta, dean of the USC Thornton School. “Not only was she a legendary figure in the Thornton School and Los Angeles, where she helped the classical music scene mature and prosper in the years following World War II, but her reputation spread throughout the world.”
Read the article - April 28, 2008
- Daily Trojan profiles Outreach trip of The Horn Squad, a Thornton French horn quartet
- The article highlighted the five days The Horn Squad, which includes students Brian Bush, Anni Hochhalter, Annie Bosler and Katie Faraudo, spent in New Orleans, playing at schools, a college and a women’s prison as part of the Thornton Outreach Program. "We were able to bring smiles, hope and joy," Bosler said of the group's performance for inmates. "Things they don't get everyday."
Read the article - February 15, 2008
- New appointments and promotions in strings department signal exciting new era
- With the hiring this year of Hagai Shaham and Ralph Kirshbaum and the promotion of Midori as chair of the strings program, a new era has begun at the USC Thornton School of Music. “Any change of teacher must bring, by definition, different points of view and different emphases,” said Kirshbaum, whose appointment as holder of the Gregor Piatigorsky Endowed Chair in Violoncello made international headlines in November.
Read the article - January 31, 2008
- Richard O'Neill, Ralph Kirshbaum, Vadim Repin, and others participate in Strings Visiting Artists Series
- As part of the Strings Visiting Artists Series, members of the public are invited to come and observe prominent artists as they share their expertise and artistic inspiration with young performers. Violist Richard O'Neill, cellist Ralph Kirshbaum, violinist Vadim Repin and USC Thornton alumna and violinist Laura Hong will be participating in this series of events. The artist series also includes a "Mock" Orchestra Audition, where a venerable panel of renowned musicians will teach select strings students the trials and tribulations of a real orchestra audition.
Read the flyer - November 6, 2007
- Ralph Kirshbaum appointed the Piatigorsky Endowed Chair in Violoncello
- Cellist Ralph Kirshbaum, who holds a distinguished position among the world's foremost musicians, has been appointed the fifth holder of the Gregor Piatigorsky Endowed Chair in Violoncello in the strings program of the USC Thornton School of Music. As "one of the outstanding cellists of his generation," according to The New York Times, Texas-born Kirshbaum has excelled in a career which encompasses performances with the world's leading symphony orchestras, solo recital appearances, chamber music collaborations, teaching and numerous recordings.
Read the announcement - October 29, 2007
- Brian Shepard's pioneering work with Internet2 profiled
- Thanks to an amazing technology and protocol pioneered by Brian K. Shepard, assistant professor of pedagogical technology, USC Thornton is on the leading edge of the new educational opportunities provided by Internet2. "In the same spirit of experimentation and cooperation that led to the original, or commodity, Internet, these organizations realize the significance and importance of working together to develop new technologies that can meet the demands of future use. One of those future uses is the ability to have meaningful, musical interactions in the form of classes, lessons and performances with collaborators around the world. As a result of Shepard’s work, the USC Thornton School of Music is on the leading edge of that important research, and USC students and faculty are beginning to reap the benefits of global collaboration opportunities."
Read the article - October 25, 2007
- Strings attached for violin prodigy
- 16-year-old Antonio Pontarelli, a freshman violinist/singer/songwriter majoring in music industry, was recently profiled in the Daily Trojan. "It's been 10 years since rock violinist/singer/songwriter Antonio Pontarelli was photographed standing in his very own field of dreams. Back then he was just 6 years old, standing amid wildflowers, enjoying the feeling of winning the Inland Valley Community Competition. It was his first musical competition win and a perfect Kodak moment for his mom. The musician, who has since performed at the Grammys, has come a long way since then."
Read the article - September 27, 2007
- Violinist Hagai Shaham Joins USC Thornton
- Internationally recognized Israeli violinist Hagai Shaham began teaching at the USC Thornton School of Music this month. "I have very good feelings about the openness and the new possibilities that the school can offer. I am very much looking forward to contributing and sharing knowledge at Thornton School of Music," Shaham said.
Read the article - September 21, 2007
- Midori Named U.N. Messenger of Peace
- Midori Goto, holder of the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Violin at USC, is among four international figures designated today as United Nations Messengers of Peace by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The quartet will join four other Messengers of Peace – individuals who possess talents in art, literature, music and sports – helping to raise worldwide awareness of the ideals and activities of the United Nations.
Read the article - July 5, 2007
- New West Guitar Quartet Bound for Berlin
- The New West Guitar Quartet, made up of USC Thornton alumni, will perform in Berlin for three weeks as the official and only musical representation for Los Angeles at the 2007 German-American Volkfest, an annual festival that attracts more than half a million people. The NWGQ received early support from Thornton’s Protégé Program, a unique career-launching program that provides mentoring and financial aid for talented student musicians poised to enter the professional ranks.
Read the article - May 15, 2007
- USC Thornton alumna Audrey Solomon profiled in USC Trojan Family Magazine
- Audrey Solomon, a violinist who earned both a master’s degree in musical performance and a graduate certificate from USC Thornton, was recently profiled in the USC Trojan Family Magazine. She is an award-winning, in-demand classical violinist, member of the acclaimed Blue Rose Trio, fusion fiddler, and winner of the 2000 Miss Alaska competition and contestant for the Miss America pageant the same year.
Read the article - May 1, 2007
- USC Thornton student Colin Koproske named USC valedictorian for 2007
- Colin Koproske, a Jazz Studies major, has been named USC valedictorian for 2007. A Trustee Scholar, he came to USC almost exclusively as a musician – he took up the piano at the age of 5 and has been playing drums since he was 12. But he knew as a freshman that there were other paths he wanted to explore. "I started going the more academic route as time went on," he said, explaining how he came to add a political science major on top of his original music performance major. His outstanding performance in these two fields earned him the USC Renaissance Scholar Prize.
Read the article - April 19, 2007
- Ella Fitzgerald Celebrated at Galen Center
- On April 29th, the Galen Center will host a birthday party for the first lady of song, Ella Fitzgerald, and jazz studies professor Shelly Berg will direct USC Thornton musicians in a performance featuring vocalists including Natalie Cole, Nancy Wilson, Wynonna Judd and Patti Austin as well as musicians Quincy Jones, James Moody and many others.
Read the article - April 13, 2007
- Collaboration drives the USC Thornton Opera department's latest opera Miss Lonelyhearts
- On April 20-22, the USC Thornton School of Music’s opera program will present the West Coast premiere of Miss Lonelyhearts, written by Lowell Liebermann with libretto by J.D. McClatchy. The produciton is the result of an unusual collaboration among USC Thornton, the Juilliard School and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
Read the article - March 28, 2007
- An interview with Adam Gilbert, director of USC Thornton’s Early Music Program
- Taking the starch out of early music, USC Thornton’s Adam Gilbert has been messing around with ways to make it interactive, interdisciplinary and downright fun with various projects, including hosting an open jam-session in the USC Fisher Gallery, leading USC Thornton's Baroque Sinfonia in a Bolivian-Jesuit Christmas performance, and performing with his own six-piece Ensemble Ciaramella. “This is not museum music," he says. "It’s still living!”
Read the article - March 27, 2007
- The John Lennon Educational Tour bus visits the USC campus
- The John Lennon Educational Tour bus came to the USC campus in February, parked in front of Doheny Memorial Library and opened its doors to USC Thornton School of Music students to spend a day writing and recording a song and shooting a video to accompany it. “It was wonderful to see our students immerse themselves into the super-charged creative atmosphere of this mobile recording studio," said Chris Sampson, assoicate dean for external relations. "The creative energy and its output were palpable.”
Read the article - March 12, 2007
- USC Thornton faculty and alumni win Grammys
- USC Thornton faculty and alumni were well represented at this year's Grammy Awards. Click here for a complete list of Thornton faculty, alumni nominees and winners at the 2007 GRAMMY Awards; also see USC News Story: Thornton Faculty, Alums Win Grammys.
- February 15, 2007
- USC Thornton professor Shelly Berg gives a groundbreaking bicoastal piano lesson
- USC Thornton School jazz studies professor Shelly Berg gave a groundbreaking piano lesson recently at the Anaheim Convention Center with jazz pianist Tom McEvoy who was 3,000 miles away in New York City, sitting at an identical Yamaha Disklavier Mark IV piano and connected via the Internet to Berg in Anaheim.
Read the article - January 31, 2007
- A conversation with Midori
- The internationally known violinist and USC Thornton faculty member reflects on her teaching philosophy, the nation’s musical health and the importance of reaching out to young performers.
Read the article - November 22, 2006
- Thornton student named Marshall Scholar
- Colin Koproske, a multifaceted senior majoring in political science and music performance, has been named a 2007 Marshall Scholar.
Read the article - October 17, 2006
- Frank Ticheli profiled in the Daily Trojan
- An interview with USC Thornton professor and composer Frank Ticheli. "Frank Ticheli has been a professor of composition at USC for 15 years. Here's a look at what makes him tick."
Read the article - April 24, 2006
- Elmer Bernstein Collection Comes to USC
- The archive of one of the top names in music history offers a rich resource of scores fashioned for films, television and Broadway.
Read the story - April 4, 2006
- Simple Premise Yields Complex Works
- Graduate students in creative writing and composition team up to create lyrical poems set to multilayered music.
Read the story - March 20, 2006
- Sister Act
- Seasoned performers who have appeared around the world, Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld share a passion for music and teaching at USC. They were child prodigies who began their studies in prewar Europe.
Read the story - February 20, 2006
- Concert to reflect new emphasis
- The USC Thornton School launches a new orchestral studies program, under the direction of Larry Livingston.
Read the story - February 15, 2006
- Flora Thornton donates $5 million to USC
- The benefactor of the USC Thornton School renews her commitment to music education.
Read the story - February 3, 2006
- Opera star, former faculty artist dies
- Herta Glaz, who enjoyed a fourteen-year career at the Metropolitan Opera before coming to USC, passed away on January 28.
Read the story - October 17, 2005
- On disc
- Recent recordings from USC Thornton faculty artists Erica Muhl and Morten Lauridsen are profiled.
Read the story - April 8, 2005
- Guests get an insider's view of famed factory
- Longtime USC supporters of the Thornton's All-Steinway School
Initiative tour the 125-year-old Steinway factory building where
quality is the top priority.
Read the story - February 10, 2005
- Making way for beautiful music
- A 1981 handcrafted double harpsichord is introduced to great acclaim at
a recent Music Masters concert. The instrument is the second to be
ready for regular performance use by the USC Thornton School of Music.
Read the story - September 1, 2005
- USC Thornton Music Industry minor grows to fit student desire
- The Thornton School of Music recently made changes to the music industry minor, making it possible for more students to participate in the popular program. "A lot of people just have an interest and want to take our classes. In modifying the minor program, we hope more can come and see if the field is for them," said professor Rick Schmunk.
Read the article - Winter 2004
- Pure of Hartke
- New-music cognoscenti have prized his purposeful, inventive voice for
nearly 25 years. But since 2003—the year one critic dubbed his
"coming-out party"—even the uninitiated have started to spark to the
ism-less art of Stephen Hartke.
Read the story
Listen to Hartke's music - March 30, 2004
- No strings attached
- A new USC guitar program offers local middle-school students free
weekly instruction— instruments included. The semester-long endeavor,
emphasizing R & B, rock and jazz styles, will culminate in a summer
recital at L.A.'s famed House of Blues.
Read the story - March 11, 2004
- Meeting the master
- In a master class open to the public, world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma charms and coaxes beauty from USC student-artists.
Read the story - Autumn 2003
- Musical Chairs
- In this profile of the USC Thornton School, a rich orchestral history yields to a richer-still quest for musical multiplicity.
Read the story - July 21, 2003
- Back in the U.S.S.R.
- A prizewinner in the first International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition,
Daniel Pollack struck a chord with the Russian public that still
resonates 45 years later.
Read the story - May 1, 2002
- The astonishing LAGQ
- They’ve been called everything from the world's tightest pop band to a
22-year homework assignment. For the four USC alumni who make up the
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, it's a source of pride that labels don’t
come easy.
Read the story
