Music in the City of Angels Reeextraor Distinct Divisions, One
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA thornton school of music USCornton viewbook )'(*,(+ music in the city of angels reeextraor distinct divisions, one As the music profession changes, the USC Thornton School of Music offers an innovative education that prepares students for careers at the highest level as performers, composers, educators and industry leaders. We do this while making the most of our location in Los Angeles, the nation’s center for creativity and original art of all kinds. Robert Cutietta Our three exceptional divisions offer cross-genre experiences Dean of the USC Thornton unique among the country’s top music schools. As a leading School of Music international research institution, USC offers students a rigorous, global education that enriches their artistic and musical development. USCornton School of Music dinaryschool. Online Extras Full stories and videos for the features in this viewbook are at music.usc.edu/viewbook Follow Us @USCThornton Classical Contemporary Scholarly & Performance & Music Professional Composition page 8 Studies page 2 page 12 visit us online @ music.usc.edu Cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins in downtown Los Angeles, framed by the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Walt Disney Concert Hall. classical performance & composition ON THE HORIZON: BRIGHT FUTURES classical music is as vibrant as it has ever been, but it's changing and so are we. We've created a new undergraduate curriculum that will challenge students to develop a distinct artistic voice and create a thriving career in classical music. We’re calling it the ReDesign. our goal? to train artists who will expand classical music’s influence and impact, now and in years to come. Read more at music.usc.edu/viewbook classical performance & composition “If you monitor the New York arts press, you will quickly understand that Los Angeles is hot. The coast-to-coast winning the Game current has changed of Musical Chairs Recent grads across all disciplines are course: young being hired by professional symphonies. The odds of winning a position in a full-time painters, writers orchestra are daunting. Nabbing a spot is rare, but graduates of USC Thornton have been winning and musicians are these highly competitive seats at an enviable rate. “Our grads are all over the world — in the New York flocking here.” Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw, Swedish radio, - Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times music critic Madrid,” says clarinet professor Yehuda Gilad. Female Conductors Seize the baton A Semester at Sibelius Doctoral students make their musical A young composer learns to appreciate Finland’s marks at USC — and afterwards. cold and calm in a new study abroad program. Three Choral & Sacred Music students and USC Thornton forged new ground when it established recent alums are earning plaudits on the podium the International Exchanges program, creating as conductors. Jenny Wong, Irene Apanovitch and opportunities for students to travel and study abroad. Shou-Ping Liu are seeing success in the Los Angeles As part of the program, Composition major Curtis Master Chorale, the American Choral Directors Green spent a semester at the Sibelius Academy Association Graduate Conducting Competition and in Helsinki, Finland. the orchestra and chorus at Union College. 4 USC Thornton School of Music / 2018-19 PROGRAMS Choral & 94% Sacred Music of recent alumni said Classical Guitar they would likely enroll at USC Thornton if they had the Composition chance to do it over again. keyboard Collaborative Arts keyboard Studies organ Studies Strings vocal Arts & opera winds & Percussion USC Thornton alumni are well represented on the rosters of major American orchestras: New York Philharmonic (5, incl. assistant concertmaster, principal viola & principal tuba); Chicago Symphony (5, incl. principal tuba); Cincinnati Symphony (5, incl. principal bass & oboe); San Francisco Symphony (7, incl. the conductor); Los Angeles Philharmonic (18, incl. principal cello, trumpet, percussion & timpani); Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (14, incl. principal harp, trumpet, viola & composer in residence); and principal chairs with the Auckland Philharmonia, Boston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Seattle Symphony. (L-R) Annie Ranzani, Justin Woo, Nao Kubota and Malik Taylor at the Department of Water and Power headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. @USCThornton / music.usc.edu 5 classical performance & composition 87% of USC Thornton undergraduates complete their degrees in six years, but most (73%) graduate in four. The national six-year completion rate “I find Los Angeles is 59%. to be the most vital artistic community in the country right now, and we really have to look no further than our campus.” - Margaret Batjer, strings faculty member and concertmaster of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Those Recital Student Premieres work experiences Pay off at Royal ballet Keyboard Studies student appears Undergraduate found her British collaborator at The Kennedy Center. online, and worked via Skype. Every year, the more than 300 student recitals on Composer Katya Richardson, in her junior year, campus are important warmups for professional collaborated with British choreographer Charlotte performances. Example A is So-Mang Jeagal ’15 Edmonds on a piece for England’s Royal Ballet. who, while earning an Artist Diploma, won After collaborating online via Skype, Richardson’s the Grand Prize at the Washington, D.C., Interna- music and Edmonds’ choreography premiered tional Piano Competition in 2014 that included a in spring 2018, and Richardson traveled to London concerto appearance at The Kennedy Center. for the event. 6 USC Thornton School of Music / 2018-19 Vocalists (L-R): Victoria Fox, Diana Newman, Anthony Moreno, Amy Lawrence, from the USC Thornton Opera production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea Two Seniors These Singers Do it All earn Fulbrights singers as producers, two recent alumni From Classmates to directors, music arrangers, will spend the 2018-19 Professional Colleagues set builders, costumers academic year abroad two violinists, recent and prop masters. for Student Composer is as fulbright scholars. alumni michelle tseng more than a dozen years, Musical America’s New choral & sacred music and tianyun Jia, both the chamber opera of Artist of the Month alumna Geetha somaya- won jobs in the lA Phil, usc has been thriving as Doctoral candidate Julia jula will travel to india while cellist Peter myers a student-run organization Adolphe, who has had to study classical music is the new assistant that provides performing works commissioned by traditions, while Jazz principal cello of the opportunities to under- the new York Philhar- studies alumnus max san francisco opera. graduate singers and monic and los Angeles Kapur is bound for south the runner-up? his directing opportunities Philharmonic, recently Korea to teach English. classmate and fellow to graduate students. was the magazine’s Both double majored at member of the sakura the students produce featured new artist. in usc: somayajula earned cello quintet, Yoshika two opera or musical her interview, she said a second degree from masuda. theater productions every gender diversity at usc the usc marshall school Read these stories year, and learn how thornton was one of of Business, and Kapur and see the videos to be true ensemble the reasons she chose in East Asian languages at music.usc.edu/ participants. the school. & cultures. viewbook @USCThornton / music.usc.edu 7 Celeste Butler (center) with Amir Kelly, Nyallah Noah and Eddie Stone, performing at the 2018 Popular Music Senior Showcase at the El Rey Theatre. contemporary music ALWAYS INNOVATING ALWAYS COLLABORATING from Popular music to screen scoring to Jazz studies, the programs in the Division of contemporary music are among the industry’s best and most celebrated. they have always been musical pathfinders, and are also known for their embrace of new technology and creative collaborations with new media, dance, theater and musicians located around the world. Read more at music.usc.edu/viewbook contemporary music USC Thornton Returns to Studio A the contemporary music Division thrives on collabo- ration. Each spring, usc thornton organizes a recording session at capitol records’ famed studio A with legendary engineer Al schmitt. the event involves students from three pro- grams—the usc thornton Jazz orchestra performs arrangements written by students in the screen scoring program, while music Production students “There are so many assist with the recording. sides to being a composer in the film industry. The business. The creative. USC does a wonderful job of giving you that whole package.” - Duncan Thum (’06, GC ’13) Emmy-nominated film composer and Screen Scoring alum Music industry Students brimming with Creativity Undergrad student creates A New Space for a Song “the WordPress of event planning.” USC Thornton unveils new Songwriter’s Theater. Alvin Liang has quite a few music industry insiders The school debuted a brand new venue for song- expecting big things from him. Not for his artistry, writing — a space dedicated to words, music and mind you, but for his killer apps. Last October, Liang creation. The 980-square-foot space has a state-of- wowed the judges at the 11th annual USC Stevens the-art sound system and stage rigging, LED light- Student Innovator Showcase, landing his team the ing and seats 50 in an intimate theater setting. A $10,000 grand prize for “Best Business Concept.” grand piano, drum set, guitars and amps stay in the His idea: a scalable, self-serve event planning room, at the ready for songwriters to test their work. platform called EventAll. 10 USC Thornton School of Music / 2018-19 PROGRAMS Jazz Studies Music industry Music Technology Popular Music Screen Scoring Drummer Brandon Combs and vocalist Nolan Frank in a recording session at Capitol Records’ Studio A. Studio Guitar Jazz in Amsterdam Leading Music the language barrier Pop Music Forum industry Alumni Two Years out, wasn’t such a barrier at brings Pros to Talk You can find music indus- Two Nominations all.