USC Thornton School of Music
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The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States. Founded only four years after the University itself, the Thornton school is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Southern California[1]. The School is located in the heart of the USC University Park Campus, south of downtown Los Angeles.
The school gets its name in honor of a $25 million gift by Flora L. Thornton in 1999. At the time, this was the largest donation to a school of music in the United States.
The USC Thornton School is noted for quality programs such as orchestral studies, opera, jazz, Film Scoring and Music industry. Rolling Stone magazine named the music school as one of the top-five in the country.[2]
Thornton is one of two universities in the country to offer an undergraduate program in Music Industry. Thornton is one of only two schools that offer a comprehensive program in Scoring for Television and Film. It also has a unique program in studio guitar performance.
At the 2007 Grammy Awards, four alumni (out of six nominated) and four faculty members received awards, in addition to one faculty member receiving a special honor.[2] At the 2009 Grammy Awards, faculty and alumni won six awards.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Notable faculty (past and present)
[edit] Performance halls and studios
- the Alfred Newman Recital Hall
- the Bing Theatre
- the Bovard Auditorium
- the Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Sound Stage
- the Johnny Carson Sound Stage
- the Jeanette MacDonald Recital Hall
- the Marcia Lucas Post-Production building
- the Roland Drumlab[4]
- the Simon Ramo Recital Hall
[edit] Notable alumni
- Michael Abels, composer
- Herb Alpert, trumpeter and co-founder of A&M Records
- Piotr Anderszewski, pianist
- Michael Balzary, bassist, trumpeter, and actor
- Christophe Beck, film and television score composer
- Marco Beltrami, Film score composer
- Robert Bernhardt, conductor
- Jerry Blackstone, choral conductor
- Bruce Broughton, composer
- Harold Budd, ambient/avant-garde composer
- Roberto Cani, violinist
- William Edward Childs, jazz pianist and composer
- Nicolas Chumachenco, violinist
- Gerald Clayton, jazz pianist
- Tamar Davis, R&B singer
- John Dearman, classical guitarist
- Martin Denny, creator of exotica music
- Eldar Djangirov, jazz pianist
- Dean Drummond, composer and conductor
- Gigi Drums, percussionist
- William Eddins, conductor
- Taylor Eigsti, jazz pianist
- Jack Eskew, arranger/orchestrator
- John Frizzell, film and television score composer
- Grace Fong, pianist and music educator
- Sara Gazarek, jazz musician and singer
- Grant Gershon, conductor and pianist
- Rod Gilfry, opera baritone
- Renee Elise Goldsberry, actress
- Jerry Goldsmith, Film score composer
- Donald Grantham, composer and music educator
- Maria Grenfell, composer
- Lionel Hampton, jazz musician
- Lisa Harriton, singer, songwriter, and keyboardist
- Jane Henschel, soprano
- Wataru Hokoyama, composer
- Marilyn Horne, mezzo soprano
- James Horner, Film score composer
- James Newton Howard, Film score composer
- Paul Jackson, Jr., fusion guitarist
- Tommy Johnson, tubist on film scores
- Jerry Kirkbride, clarinetist
- Morten Lauridsen, composer
- Christopher Lennertz, film and television score composer
- Charles Lloyd, jazz musician
- Amy R. Martin, soprano
- Bear McCreary, television score composer
- Ronald Muldrow, jazz musician
- Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano
- Martin O'Donnell, composer
- Christopher Parkening, classical guitarist
- Leonard Pennario, pianist
- P. Q. Phan, composer of contemporary classical music
- Cynthia Phelps, violinist
- Elizabeth Pitcairn, violinist
- Harvey Pittel, saxophonist
- Basil Poledouris, Film score composer
- Harve Presnell, singer and actor
- Brian Ralston, Film score composer
- Robert Ralston, pianist and organist
- Lee Ritenour, session musician
- Jessica Rivera, soprano
- Leroy Robertson, composer and music educator
- Douglas Romayne, film and television score composer
- Nathaniel Rosen, cellist
- Patrice Rushen, R&B singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist
- Stefan Sanderling, conductor
- William Schmidt, composer
- Garry Schyman, composer for film, television, and video games
- Tom Scott, session musician
- Lya Stern, violinist
- Thomas Stevens, trumpeter, composer, and educator
- Tomas Svoboda, composer and music educator
- Salli Terri, singer and songwriter
- Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor and pianist
- Oleg Timofeyev, musicologist and classical guitarist
- Fiona Thompson, cellist
- Martin Tillman, composer and cellist
- Zeynep Üçbaşaran, pianist
- Walter Werzowa, composer and founder of Musikvergnuegen
- Mack Wilberg, conductor, composer, and arranger; Mormon Tabernacle Choir director
- Wanda Harasimowicz Wilk, musicologist and founder of USC Polish Music Center
- Andrew York, classical guitarist and composer
[edit] References
- ^ "About Us". USC Thornton School of Music. http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/about/. Retrieved 2009-09-013.
- ^ a b Ljiljana Grubisic, Thornton Faculty, Alums Win Grammys, USC Public Relations, March 12, 2007, Accessed March 4, 2009.
- ^ Jennifer Pons and Allison Engel, USC Shines at the Grammys, USC Public Relations, February 12, 2009, Accessed March 4, 2009.
- ^ "Beat the Drum: New Lab First of Its Kind". University of Southern California. http://uscnews.usc.edu/arts/beat_the_drum_new_lab_first_of_its_kind.html. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
[edit] External links
- USC Thornton School of Music
- USC Polish Music Center website
- Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television website
- Music Library of the University of Southern California
