The USC Thornton School of Music is a private music school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1884 only four years after the University of Southern California, the Thornton School is the oldest continually operating arts institution in Los Angeles. The school is located on the USC University Park Campus, south of Downtown Los Angeles. The Thornton School is noted for blending the rigors of a traditional conservatory-style education with a forward-looking approach to training the next generation of musicians. Highly regarded internationally, the school is widely ranked as one of the top 10 schools of music in the United States.

History

The USC Thornton School of Music was founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999. It was named in honor of philanthropist Flora L. Thornton following a $25 million gift from her foundation. At the time, this was the largest donation to a school of music in the United States. In 2006, she donated an additional $5 million to support the facility needs of the school. In 2023, Jason King was announced as the new dean of USC Thornton, following Robert Cutietta stepping down at the end of 2022.

Programs

USC Thornton offers Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in more than 20 disciplines across the school's three divisions – Classical Performance and Composition, Contemporary Music, and Research and Scholarly Studies. Many disciplines also offer graduate certificates. Thornton was one of the first schools of music to offer an undergraduate program in music industry, and currently offers both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Music Industry. Thornton offers the only comprehensive program in Scoring for Television and Film. It also has a program in studio guitar performance. In 2017, USC Thornton launched new professional master's degree programs in Arts Leadership; Community Music; and Music Industry, designed to train musicians in new ways to imagine a contemporary music career. In 2018, USC Thornton announced a new model of classical music education for undergraduate Classical Performance and Composition students. Hallmarks of USC Thornton's redesigned curriculum include restructured lessons, rehearsals, and classes. == Performance halls and studios ==

Faculty

In 2007, USC Thornton alumnus and Distinguished Professor of Composition Morten Lauridsen became the eighth classical composer to receive the National Medal of Arts. Two years later, in 2009, alumnus and Judge Widney Professor of Music at USC Michael Tilson Thomas also received the National Medal of Arts.

Choral music

Classical guitar

Composition

Conducting

Jazz studies

Keyboard studies

Music education

Music industry

Musicology

Music production

Popular music

Screen scoring

Strings/Harp

Studio/Jazz guitar

Theory/Aural skills

Vocal arts and opera

Winds and Percussion

Notable alumni