Beat the Drum: New Lab First of Its Kind
Although many music schools require their students to take courses in keyboard proficiency, the Roland Drumlab will make it possible for USC Thornton musicians to also be the first to require drumset proficiency as part of the school’s newly created Popular Music Performance program, which begins in the fall.
“In order for popular music students to understand and be proficient in rhythm, time awareness and groove, USC Thornton is applying the keyboard lab concept to the drumset,” associate dean and program director Christopher Sampson said.
USC Thornton faculty member Peter Erskine was instrumental in the creation of the drumlab.
“The purpose of the class is not only to instruct students how to play the drums, but also to provide a historical overview of the instrument, to explain its role in the development of popular music and to enable developing musicians and songwriters to understand the role of drumming from both sides of the kit,” Erskine said. “What better way for a songwriter to effectively communicate song requirements than by having had the firsthand experience of sitting behind the kit.”
The Roland Drumlab was made possible with the support of the Roland Corp., which assisted in acquiring 10 TD-9SX V-Drums sets and their teaching lab conferencing system.
According to Erskine, “This system enables simultaneous instruction as well as practice capabilities for an entire classroom of students. We are now able to offer our jazz drumming students a place where they can practice at most any time day or night.”
Sampson added, “The Roland V-Drums provides the traditional feel and sound of an acoustic experience, but in an electronic environment.”
USC Thornton’s jazz and popular music departments also received assistance from Vic Firth Inc., which supplied drumsticks and educational materials; the D’Addario Company (Real Feel practice pads); the Drum Workshop Company (state-of-the-art drum hardware and drumkits); and the Zildjian Company (cymbals).
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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