Overview
The USC Thornton strings department is among the nation's finest. Its eminent artist/teachers are particularly noted for both individual instruction and coaching in chamber music. High standards of professionalism in performance and teaching have been upheld for more than a century by a faculty that has included Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky and William Primrose. The highly regarded USC Thornton Symphony, USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra and many prize-winning chamber ensembles offer varied, professional-level experiences for their student participants.

Degrees Offered
BM, MM, DMA, Graduate Certificate

Curriculum
The BM in strings is a four-year, 132-unit program consisting of course work in the major (individual instruction, string pedagogy, orchestra repertoire, interpretation of baroque music), core music studies (theory, aural skills, music history, conducting, chamber music and symphony) and USC's general education and writing program. Junior and senior recitals are required.

The MM in strings is a two-year, 30-unit program consisting of individual instruction, chamber music, symphony, music history, conducting, interpretation of baroque music and electives. A graduate recital is required.

The DMA in strings requires a minimum of 65 units beyond the bachelor's degree and consists of five areas of study: the basic DMA curriculum, course work in the major, an academic field and two elective fields. Four doctoral recitals are required.

The graduate certificate in string performance is a two-year, 16-unit program consisting of individual instruction, studio class and two ensembles each semester.

Ensembles
USC Thornton Symphony
USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra
USC Thornton Concert Orchestra
Carl St.Clair, artistic leader of USC Thornton Orchestras

Faculty
Margaret Batjer
Martin Chalifour
Che-Yen Chen
Glenn Dicterow
Karen Dreyfus
Paul Ellison
Midori Goto
Henry Gronnier
Ben Hong
Ralph Kirshbaum
Donald McInnes
David Allen Moore
Alice Schoenfeld
Andrew Shulman
JoAnn Turovsky
Bing Wang
Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu
Suli Xue

Contact
Department of Strings
USC Thornton School of Music
Los Angeles, California 90089-0851
(213) 740-7704
uscramohall@gmail.com