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.

Born in Texas and based in Europe, where his career has flourished for nearly 40 years, Kirshbaum’s acceptance of the position meant relocating his family to Los Angeles.

Having embraced the tradition of the strings program, which has featured some of most famous names in classical music, his sights now are set on the future.

“I see my role at USC as encouraging the highest ideals personally, instrumentally and musically among my students,” he said. “While I am proud to follow in the footsteps of my childhood idol, Gregor Piatigorsky, I am not so exercised by tradition per se. I am much more concerned with values, confident that whatever ‘identity’ arises from this will be consistent with the storied legacy of the Thornton strings program.”

The program is led by Midori, whose appointment as holder of the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Violin in 2004 resulted in a similar wave of international excitement.

“From the very beginning, I was impressed by the high standards and reputation of Thornton as an institution of higher musical education,” she said. “It is intriguing to be surrounded by such wonderful, generous and dedicated faculty, and I appreciate the community-minded student body as well as the school’s serious interest in cultivating the concept of an artist-teacher role.”

The USC Thornton School added another celebrated artist to the strings program this year with the appointment of Shaham, an internationally renowned violinist from Israel who, like Kirshbaum, moved his family here to teach at USC.

“I am thrilled to join such a prestigious school and esteemed faculty, located in a most friendly climate and state,” said Shaham, who will perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 with the USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Bovard Auditorium. “I believe that an opened-minded program like that at Thornton is the best option, not because it is different than ‘traditional’ ones, but based on them.”

Together, the three artists represent the international identity for which the program has long been known.

“Working with young musicians all over the world reaffirms the notion of music as a global means of communication,” Midori said. “There is so much to learn from other cultures’ approach to music education and appreciation, which I am eager to share with my own students. It is both a privilege and a responsibility to offer my students the best knowledge that I have acquired through my own experiences.”

With its new era under way, the future of the USC Thornton strings program is in capable hands.

“The development of the students is what really matters,” Kirshbaum said. “I want each of them to succeed to the best of their abilities – and thereby to respect themselves and grow in self-awareness and self-confidence. Knowledge and mastery are powerful tools, and an atmosphere of openness and mutual trust provides a fertile ground for attaining them.”