USC Thornton School of Music
| Founded in 1884, and today the oldest continually operating cultural institution in Los Angeles, the Thornton School consistently ranks among the top one percent of the nation’s music schools and conservatories. Graduates of the school attain positions with major orchestras, ensembles, recording studios and music industry firms and perform on stages and in studios around the world. Blending the rigors of a traditional conservatory-style education with the benefits of studying at a leading research university, the Thornton School offers students a thorough music education in a real-world context. Located at the center of Los Angeles, the school is the collegiate partner of choice for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy, to name a few. |
Degree
| Classical Performance and Composition | |
| Chamber Music | A vital part of the Classical Division curriculum at USC Thornton, the Chamber Music program promotes a dedication to the life-long skill of collaboration, both musically and interpersonally. Students delve into a rich repertoire of chamber music spanning the classical composers to the present, with ensembles forming organically and under the guidance of faculty. There are ample opportunities for coachings, masterclasses and performances, including a regular Chamber Music Festival. |
| Choral & Sacred Music | Established by Charles C. Hirt in 1946, the Department of Choral and Sacred Music has long been an innovator and leader in the development of degree programs specifically designed for the choral conductor and religious affiliated musician. Graduates are given the opportunity to conduct choral groups of national prominence and hold positions as conductors and teachers throughout the world. The current faculty consists of talented specialists who lead regional choral and church ensembles, and also serve as clinicians and guest conductors around the world. |
| Classical Guitar | The experienced faculty of the Classical Guitar department educate students through a multifaceted educational approach that prepares them for a successful career in the rapidly changing world of music. The program offers students hands-on instruction from an internationally acclaimed faculty, including world-renowned guitarist Maestro Pepe Romero. The department’s visiting artists series introduces students to leading professionals in the field, and has hosted a wide variety of artists including Paul O’Dette, David Russell, Alvaro Pierri, Zoran Dukic, Solo Duo and the Assad Brothers. |
| Composition | The composers on the USC Thornton faculty are outstanding members of the international musical community, with major commissions, awards, recordings and residencies among the faculty’s many accolades. Composition students, among the finest in the country, regularly win national awards and commissions, including: ASCAP and BMI awards, New York Symphony Orchestra First Music commissions, Aspen and Tanglewood fellowships, American Composers Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra reading sessions, among many others. |
| Keyboard Collaborative Arts | Established in 1947 by celebrated accompanist Gwendolyn Koldofsky, the Keyboard Collaborative Arts program at the USC Thornton School of Music was the first of its kind anywhere in the world. With an internationally acclaimed faculty, and graduates who rank among the most notable leaders and innovators in the field of collaboration, the program has remained an influential force for over half a century. |
| Keyboard Studies | The Keyboard Studies department seeks to enhance the artistic and technical development of aspiring pianists through comprehensive mentorship, study and performance of solo pianists and collaborative artists. Courses offered by the department include guidance in solo performance, keyboard literature, piano pedagogy, piano four-hands and duo repertoire, collaborative performance with singers and other instrumentalists and harpsichord. |
| Organ Studies | Led by prominent and internationally distinguished faculty members Ladd Thomas and Cherry Rhodes, students of the USC Thornton School of Music Organ Studies program are richly educated in the performance of all periods of music written for this iconic instrument. Alumni of the program have received grants and awards at local, regional, national and international levels. In addition to regularly performing recitals and concerts, both as soloists and in ensemble capacities, the graduates of the organ department occupy significant university, college and church positions throughout the country. |
| Strings | The USC Thornton Strings department is an internationally recognized, distinguished top-tier program. Its eminent artist-teachers are exceptionally qualified in both individual instruction and in coaching for chamber music. Outstanding standards of professionalism in performance and teaching have been upheld for more than a century by a faculty that has included Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky and William Primrose. More recent faculty have included Donald McInnes, Midori Goto, Glenn Dicterow, and the chair of the Strings department, Ralph Kirshbaum. |
| Vocal Arts & Opera | Internationally recognized for its long tradition of excellence in vocal and operatic training, the USC Thornton Vocal Arts department emphasizes the development of secure vocal technique, artistry in the interpretation of a richly varied, representative repertoire, perfection of diction in English and foreign languages and frequent solo and ensemble performance. Alumni have been named finalists and winners of prestigious competitions, and many currently work as recitalists, members of opera companies and voice faculties in both the United States as well as abroad. Opportunities for enriched experiences are offered through weekly student recitals, workshops and master classes with visiting artist-teachers and resident faculty. |
| Winds & Percussion | The USC Thornton Winds & Percussion faculty consists of artists and teachers of national and international regard, and provides a level of artistic and technical development virtually unmatched in the United States. Emphasis on all aspects of performance, combined with broad musical preparation, produces graduates who are concert artists, recording artists for major motion picture and television studios, performers in major orchestras and ensembles, and members of the faculties of music schools throughout the world. |
| Contemporary Music | |
| Jazz Studies | As one of the first free-standing jazz studies departments in the nation, the USC Thornton School was a pioneer in the development of an academic curriculum dedicated to the one true American musical art form. With a world-renown faculty, the Jazz Studies department prepares young musicians for success in the professional performance arena. Recent graduates have assumed prominent roles in jazz and popular music across the nation. The USC Thornton Jazz Studies department consistently ranks in the top three to four in the nation in major jazz periodicals. |
| Music Industry | The USC Thornton Music Industry program prepares students to succeed in a rapidly evolving industry that is largely rooted in the Los Angeles area. The program combines classroom study with technical instruction and hands-on experience for those seeking a career in the music business. |
| Music Technology | USC Thornton School of Music’s Music Technology program announces a new bachelor’s degree in Music Production that encompasses the creative, technical and business aspects of professional music. |
| Popular Music | Hailed by Rolling Stone as “the cutting-edge department that’s become the site of Los Angeles’ most productive new music scenes,” the Popular Music Program at the USC Thornton School of Music is a unique music degree program for the rock, pop, R&B, folk, Latin and country artist. The program addresses the dynamic and changing landscape of the music profession, serving the needs of musicians who do not fit the traditional classical and jazz offerings that are typical in most university music programs. |
| Screen Scoring | The USC Thornton Screen Scoring program is widely recognized as one of the world’s finest for musical composition in visual media. The Hollywood Reporter recently ranked the program #1. With a faculty comprised of working professionals in the film, television and video-game industries, and with a legacy that includes such luminaries as Pete Anthony, Buddy Baker, Elmer Bernstein, Bruce Broughton, Jerry Goldsmith, Morten Lauridsen, David Raksin, and Jack Smalley, the Screen Scoring program offers its participants unrivaled practical experience and industry connections. |
| Studio Guitar | Boasting a faculty of world-class touring and recording guitarists, the USC Thornton Studio Guitar program is considered one of the finest guitar graduate programs in the world and offers Master of Music (MM) and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degrees, as well as a Graduate Certificate (GCRT) in Studio Guitar. |
| Research and Scholarly Studies | |
| Arts Leadership | Drawing on the deep artistic and intellectual resources of USC and the vibrant cultural landscape of Los Angeles, Arts Leadership at USC is an innovative, artist-centric graduate degree program for artists, arts administrators and cultural entrepreneurs who want to expand their personal vision to create a meaningful and sustainable life and career in the arts. |
| Early Music Performance | Over the past several decades, the performance of early music has undergone a remarkable transformation. What was once a highly specialized activity is now a major facet of professional music making, garnering the attention of an ever-growing, international audience. Specialists in early music are consistently involved in a dynamic range of activities, including solo and ensemble performance, research and writing, program planning, preparation of performing editions and historically-informed arrangements, and ensemble direction and teaching. USC Thornton’s graduate degree programs in Early Music Performance immerse students in all facets of the profession, ensuring that graduates possess ample knowledge and expertise to launch their own careers in early music anywhere in the world. Students in the Early Music program rehearse 6-8 hours per week, perform in 4-6 ensemble programs per year, and collaborate in student recitals. Performers in our program also learn about historical improvisation, notation, and composition through hands-on practice. In addition to the core curriculum, they take courses in performance practice topics and musicology and pursue individual research. They are also encouraged to perform in the professional early music community. |
| Music Teaching & Learning | USC Thornton counts among its alumni a multitude of collegiate, public school and community music educators across the country. These leaders consistently strive for excellence in musicianship and are shaping music teaching and learning worldwide. |
| Musicology | The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music offers a full range of academic and performance opportunities for aspiring historians, allowing students to study music in an environment where scholarship and performance interact. Musicology students will benefit from the faculty’s strengths in both 20th century and Early Music. The program also benefits from close links to many on-campus partners, including USC’s Early Modern Studies Institute, the USC School of Cinematic Arts and USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. |