Congratulations Class of 2020! With great ingenuity, the USC Thornton Class of 2020 graduated under unprecedented circumstances. Students, faculty, staff, family and friends came together on May 15 for the Virtual Celebration, complete with music performances and special guests to honor the graduating class. Watch the full event online, and celebrate with a look back at some of our new graduates’ favorite Thornton memories.
The Class of 2020 Photo Album
New graduates sent us photos of their favorite personal memories from their time at USC Thornton, and many were featured in the Virtual Celebration on May 15. From one-on-one sessions with their favorite faculty, to tours abroad with Thornton music ensembles, the Class of 2020 photo album offers a look back at some of the moments our graduates will remember most.
Joshua Tan (DMA '20) and friends from the Chamber Singers hang out on campus
Giuseppe D’Eliseo (GCRT '20) after a performance at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.
Enzo Iannello (BM '20) and professor Paul Jackson, Jr. track guitars for a production class. "It was a highlight of my time studying here," Iannello says.
Students of the Screen Scoring program meet award-winning composer and alum Ludwig Göransson (GCRT ’08) after he spoke at an event on campus
Joshua Tan (DMA '20) with fellow members of the USC Thornton Chamber Singers during a trip to Poland
Andres Jaramillo (DMA '20) with fellow teaching assistants on campus.
From left to right: Sun-A Park, Andres Jaramillo, Eva Schaumkell, and Isaac Friedhoff.
Andres Jaramillo (DMA '20) conducts in Schoenfeld Hall
Amir Kelly (BM '20) and Ashley Estes (BM '20) harmonize together during a Popular Music final showcase
Taiga Murooka (BM '20), Shelby Wong (BM '20), and Tiffany Chung (BM '18, MM '20) after their January 2020 performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the USC Thornton Symphony
Fellow Keyboard Studies students Shelby Wong (BM '20), Clarice Kwan, and Tiffany Chen (BM '20) visit 626 Night Market
Tina Huynh (MM '14, DMA '19), who graduated in the fall, with her fellow Music Teaching & Learning doctoral students at a CASMEC conference
Tina Huynh (MM ’14, DMA ‘19), who graduated in fall from the Music Teaching & Learning program, with professor Beatriz Ilari
Thornton students on a trip to Oslo.
From left to right: Ethan Haman, Shelby Wong, Jessi Mason, Haley Perkins, Madeleine Mayi Meyer, and Vasilije Katanic.
New grads of the Keyboard Studies program spending quality time during their Sophomore year.
From left to right: Tiffany Chen, Milaena Martinez, Sang Park, and Shelby Wong
Annual Christmas coffee hangout with Winds & Percussion grads Samantha Epp, Max Opferkuch, Daniel Seaman, and Sloan Quessenberry
Samantha Epp (center) and quintet members Barret Ham, Alyssa Mena, Lisa Read, and Ben Makarchuk after a recital
Samantha Epp (BM '20) on her audition day back in 2016
Rina Ritivoiu (DMA '19) graduated in the fall, and celebrates at home with her diploma and a homemade graduation cap
Jazz Studies faculty member Bob Mintzer and the Thornton Jazz Orchestra with alum Louis Cole (bottom left) and Genevieve Artadi (bottom right) of Knower.
Popular Music graduates in their freshman year, after their first midterm performance
Pictured: Cameron Soat, Margaret Pasqua, Adam Yaron, Shilpa Sadagopan, Shannon Corsi, Tabon Ward, Logan McQuade, Quentin Noble, Daniel Ye
Kristin Robinson (BS '20) with classmates Emme, Peter, Sabrina, Lilly, and Georgia on the first day of their final semester in the Music Industry program.
Keyboard Studies graduate Keke Luo (MM '20) with friends at orientation
Keyboard Studies graduate Keke Luo (MM '20) on her first day at USC Thornton
Music Teaching & Learning graduate Julio Sequeira (MM '20) performs with a non-major classical guitar quintet
Julio Sequeira (MM '20) and friends from a non-major classical guitar quintet
Vocal Arts & Opera master’s graduates celebrate an opera casting during their first semester together
Pictured: Master's graduates Julia Gershkoff, Peter Barber, Amanda Rindlisbach, Sigrún Lopez-Jack, Sherley-Ann Belleus, and current student Hannah Weeks
Vocalist Julia Gershkoff (MM '20) with pianist Elise Lawrence (MM '20) after Gershkoff's degree recital
2020 Outstanding Graduate Joshua Tan (DMA '20) (right) pictured with professor Jo-Michael Scheibe after the USC Thornton Chamber Singers' Mozart Requiem performance with LA Chamber Orchestra
Joshua Tan (DMA '20) and fellow members of USC Thornton's MTNA chapter present at the CAPMT Conference
Vocal Arts & Opera graduate Amanda Rindlisbach (MM '20) with professor and stage director Ken Cazan after a performance
Keyboard Studies graduate Milaena Martinez (BM '20) with students Eliza Chan and Coen Hakeboom at Schoenfeld Hall after performing Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto with the Concerto Chamber Orchestra
Class of 2020 rewind: Student Ambassador Lehua Miller
New Music Industry graduate Lehua Miller (BS ’20) shares her hands-on experience from her internship in music management in this Student Ambassador blog from the Fall 2019 semester.
Class of 2020 rewind: Performing a mixtape
Misha Vayman (GCRT ’20) and Juan-Salvador Carrasco (MM ’19, GCRT ’20) formed the Mixtape Quartet with fellow Thornton students Nao Kubota (MM ’19) and Michael Siess (MM ’19) and launched a series of innovative concerts based on the classical mixtape.
Class of 2020 rewind: Blue Skies
Read about how new graduate Tehillah Alphonso (BM ’20) found eye-opening opportunities with her faculty and peers in the Popular Music program, and watch her Live! From Somewhere performance.
Congratulations from your Faculty and Staff
Faculty and staff from across the school send special messages of congratulations to our new graduates.
Class of 2020 rewind: Five Questions with Victoria Lawal
Vocalist Victoria Lawal (MM ’20) talks about her history in opera and her experience in the Vocal Arts & Opera program in this 2018 interview as she prepared for her roles in the USC Thornton Opera’s productions of Le Rossignol and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges.
Class of 2020 rewind: The New Classical with Shelby Wong
In this story, we hear from Student Ambassador and new Keyboard Studies graduate Shelby Wong (BM ’20) about why she chose Thornton, and how her unique education as a Business Law minor has shaped her undergraduate experience.
Watch the Virtual Celebration
If you missed the Virtual Celebration on May 15, you can still watch the full video online. Watch now >>
