University of Southern California

USC Thornton School of Music

Thornton in the News
Thornton School of Music > News > Thornton in the News > 2006-2007

News: 2006-2007



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 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

USC Thornton School of Music