USC Thornton Alumni

Singer-songwriter and Popular Music alum Jensen McRae has been named as one of the 21 artists in YouTube Music’s #YouTubeBlack Voices Class of 2021. Congrats Jensen! Read more: https://bit.ly/3tLoTCK https://bit.ly/3aa3HhU

A huge round of applause to composer and Thornton alumn James Lentini, whose album "Through Time and Place" was recently named one of the best classical recordings of 2020 by the Chicago Tribune. They described his pieces as conveying "a palpable optimism and hope sorely needed in this difficult year." Lentini is currently serving as the president of Molloy College. https://www.chicagotribune.com//ct-ent-best-classical-reco

Congrats to the Thornton Alumni featured in this month's issue of the Choral Journal! Irene Apanovitch-Leites (DMA '19) and Scott Rieker (DMA '19) co-authored the article COVID and the Choral Educator: Preparedness, Perceptions, Attitudes, and a Way Forward, and Correen Duffy (DMA '14) was featured as an interviewee for the featured article Perspectives on Programming Pedagogy." https://music.usc.edu/irene-apanovitch-leites-and-scott-ri/

Check out the latest Live! From Somewhere video from Jake Biller, a master's student in Studio Guitar, who recorded his arrangement of "Cherokee" by Ray Noble for a class assignment.

Congrats to GRAMMY Award-nominated composer, pianist, and Thornton alum Gerald Clayton who wrote the score for MLK/FBI, a newly released award-winning documentary directed by Sam Pollard that uncovers the extent of the FBI’s targeted surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. https://bit.ly/2M5fkxD Read more: https://bit.ly/39rSE3p

Chris O’Brien (GCRT ’20), a trumpeter and alum of USC Thornton’s Winds & Percussion program, has won a position with the U.S. Navy Band. He is one of many Thornton alumni to join the prestigious band. Congrats, Chris! https://bit.ly/39rC97x Read more: https://bit.ly/3r5Owfr

Congrats to composition alum Peter Shin who was announced this summer as the newest Sound Investment Composer in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Sound Investment program, a commissioning club enabling supporters to sponsor the work of each season’s featured composer and follow the composer’s creative process from start to finish. https://www.laco.org/support/sound-investment/

Samantha Epp, a Master's student in bassoon, performs from her home in Seattle while recent alum pianist Milaena Martínez performs from Los Angeles. From our homes to yours, everyone have a safe and happy Halloween!

Earlier this month, Jo-Michael Scheibe conducted the Formosa Singers in a Taiwanese folk music concert in the National Concert Hall of Taiwan. The Formosa Singers are one of the oldest choral ensembles in Taiwan. Incredible to say the least! https://music.usc.edu/jo-michael-scheibe-conducts-formosa-/

The amazing Julia Tai was recently hired as Missoula Symphony Orchestra and Chorale's new music director. She is currently music director of Philharmonia Northwest and plans to commute between both amazing positions for the time being. So impressive! https://missoulian.com//article_65a656aa-5574-58d3-bf79-b4

Congrats to Jenny Wong, alum of the Choral & Sacred Music program, who has been appointed to the newly created role of Associate Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale!

When he isn't being a superstar professor at El Camino College, Dr. William Doyle is winning best Original Work award from the International Edgar Allan Poe society for his composition "Extraordinary Tales in Music," exploring works that influenced Poe and his masterpieces. Go check it out here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_58-IaL4NE&t=13017s

Our own Jordan Carroll music supervised the newly released film CLOUDS, and had #1 hit song the first weekend. This tear-jerker immortalizes Zach Sobiech, a teenage musician who died of a rare bone cancer in 2013. See Carroll's work in action on Disney+ today https://6abc.com/clouds-disney-plus-zach-sobiech-itunes-//

Today’s Live! from Somewhere represents a short visit to Brazil, if only in music. Doctoral student Ismael Nascimento performs Brazilian composer and guitarist Anibal Augusto Sardinha’s Lamentos do Morro.

Congrats to alumna Elvia Puccinelli, who led the launch of the first international society for keyboard collaborative arts, the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society, as part of the fifth annual CollabFest conference on Oct. 15-17. https://ikcas.org

Music Education alum Angel Velez will host Silent Films Live: Halloween Uncanceled, a family-friendly virtual celebration of silent film on October 30 & 31. The event will include a virtual concert of six silent film scores reimagined by guest composers and performed by the Hollywood Studio Chamber Orchestra, as well as costume and pumpkin carving contests. Check it out! https://www.silentfilmslive.com/silent-films-live-2

The Daily Trojan recently featured Popular Music alum Rozzi Crane, known professionally as Rozzi, in an article about her musical journey as an indie-pop singer. Rozzi is a graduate of the inaugural class of USC Thornton’s Popular Music program. https://music.usc.edu/rozzi-featured-in-daily-trojan/

As digital recording became a necessary skill for many musicians this semester, Thornton alum Jason Yoshida, a faculty member in the Early Music program and expert in music technology, was tapped to show students the ropes in a free digital recording course open to all USC Thornton students. Click on the link to read more!

Enjoy Baroque Sinfonia’s performance of Exultent Caeli. Live from wherever we are.

We are constantly inspired by our incredible alums! Etienne Gara and YuEun Kim launched a unique mobile outdoor concert series, MusiKaravan. They safely perform outdoors for workers at farms and wineries, while showcasing California's very own essential organic food and wine makers https://music.usc.edu/usc-thornton-alumni-launch-musikarav/