The “Elton John Goes Back to School” concert was a Visions and Voices Signature Event and was free to USC students, who were selected in a lottery for the 1,235 seats in Bovard Auditorium.

On September 16, music luminary Elton John—joined by student musicians from the USC Thornton School of Music—performed

before a full house in Bovard Auditorium. An active supporter of music education, Elton John had contacted USC after being referred to the

internationally acclaimed Thornton School, and requested the opportunity to collaborate with Thornton students. He also invited many of the

student musicians to perform with him at this year’s Emmy Awards.

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Elton John Visits USCPerforms with students from the Thornton School of Music

September 24, 2013

Elton John: ‘At My Age I Can Do What I Want’

Last night, as students and fans filed into USC’s gothic Bovard Auditorium to hear a performance by Elton John, ushers at the door handed out earplugs. The legendary British rocker wouldn’t be dialing much back during two and a half hours in the campus theater, as he roared through songs stretching from his early hits to his upcoming album, The Diving Board.

Arriving in a sparkling black suit, John was joined by his touring band and student musicians from the USC School of Music, including string players, a brass quartet and a chorus of singers. From the beginning, the singer-pianist didn’t limit himself to his canon of hits, but stretched back further to the earliest piano songs that connect directly with his new album.

By Steve Appleford

… I was pleasantly surprised last night at a small event at USC where Sir Elton John himself turned what was billed as a small showcase of new songs and an introduction by mega-producer T-Bone Burnett into a full-on concert and storytelling extravaganza.

John opened the night with older tracks like “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Levon,” closing out the first part of the night with “Your Song,” which he said he knew when he first got the lyrics from collaborator Bernie Taupin that “I’d better not mess this one up.”

On the scene: He rocks out to Lorde — and more reasons why Elton John is awesomeBy Laura Hertzfeld

September 17, 2013 September 17, 2013

On Oct. 25, 1975, Elton John played the first of two sold-out concerts at Dodger Stadium for a combined audience of 110,000 people. The gigs helped establish John as one of the most theatrical pop stars in the world: a piano-pounding dynamo prowling the stage in a bedazzled Dodgers uniform.

Last week, John was back in L.A., performing in a somewhat cozier, more decorous space: the 1,200-seat Bovard Auditorium at USC.

The show paired the English superstar with students from the Thornton School of Music for stately renditions of hits like “Levon” and “Your Song,” as well as a handful of thoughtful new tunes (including one about Oscar Wilde).

By John’s flamboyant standards, it was pretty sedate. But his voice was clear and powerful, booming through the auditorium with strength and precision.

Elton John finds ‘room to breathe’ on ‘The Diving Board’By Mikael Wood

Between segments, Elton John (left) answered questions from Grammy Foundation Vice President Scott Goldman (right) and a few USC students. He urged students to challenge themselves and told the mostly student audience that he has “great faith in the young.”

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Below are excerpts from the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly

Nearly 40 student musicians from the Thornton School of Music played alongside Elton John’s touring band during the performance. In an interview with his local news station, USC junior and Lawrence, Kansas native Nolan Frank said it was an unbelievable honor to perform with the British superstar, who had been such an inspiration to him as a piano player.

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Seeking to advance music education, Elton John collaborated with students at the USC Thornton School of Music, and was deeply impressed by the exceptional caliber of students with which he performed. Entertainment Weekly called their concert a "storytelling extravaganza."

The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 22 were enlivened by Elton John performing “Home Again,” a song from his new album.

John’s performance on the Emmy stage was enhanced by backup from 14 vocalists from the USC Thornton School of Music Chamber Singers and four students from the USC Thornton Brass Ensemble playing tuba, trombones and trumpet. The Trojans were directed by Jo-Michael Scheibe, USC Thornton’s chair of choral music.

It was an encore of sorts for the USC musicians, who backed up John for several songs, including “Home Again,” during a special concert on Sept. 16 at Bovard Auditorium on the University Park Campus. At that concert, 19 string players and a harpist from the USC Thornton Symphony also accompanied John on a few other songs.

On Sunday night, 6,000 celebrities and television industry leaders sat in the audience at the Nokia Theatre at LA Live. Host Neil Patrick Harris estimated that the broadcast was seen by 30 million viewers around the world.

John’s appearance, one hour into the telecast, was billed as a tribute to the legendary entertainer Liberace. Behind the Candelabra, a biopic about the late pianist, was nominated for 15 Emmys and won several of the awards. John was introduced by Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, the stars of the HBO film. After the song, Douglas recognized “the amazing young musicians from the USC Thornton School of Music.”

Jenny Wong, a USC Thornton Chamber Singers soprano, said it was “heartwarming” to be publicly thanked by Douglas.

“At an event as high profile and involving so many celebrities as the Emmy Awards, it is possible to feel that you don’t matter,” she said. “Yet the celebrities and crew always made us feel that we were important and treated us as professionals.

“Elton John’s four professional backup singers were especially sweet to us and always made encouraging small talk,” she added. “Being amid so many talents in the industry was a complete privilege, and we could not be more thankful as some of the biggest names on television joked with us backstage, took photos of us and gave us thumbs up.”

Bass vocalist Jack Delac observed that “one cool thing was doing what we love for a bunch of famous actors and actresses who love doing the same exact thing — performing. This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am forever grateful.”

Delac said that one of the best things about the experience at both the Emmys and Bovard concert were the mic checks with John and music arranger Adam Chester ’85.

“Singing at these mic checks was almost as if we were jamming with Elton and Adam, and I feel like we got to associate more

By Allison Engel

with these superstars, rather than just seeing them off in a distance,” he said. “Also, Elton John was just a class act. After each mic check he proceeded to find each and every one of us and shake our hands. Concluding each performance, he also never neglected to thank us for our work.”

Scheibe was also very complimentary of the student musicians: “I have a wonderful ensemble, and I am very proud of them,” he said.

The USC Thornton musicians spent their entire day at the Emmys, beginning rehearsals at 8 a.m. for a telecast that ended at 8:10 p.m.

USC Thornton Dean Robert A. Cutietta said that due to the music school’s location, quality of musicians and industry connections, high-caliber professional opportunities for students occur regularly. Still to come in this semester, Cutietta said, USC Thornton students will have opportunities to play both with the Beach Boys and with James Conlon and the Los Angeles Opera.

“These collaborations are a way to differentiate ourselves from every other music school,” he said.

The USC Thornton instrumentalists at the Emmys were Sarah Bauza on trumpet, Brandon Davis on tuba and Taylor Hughey and Chris Grijalva on trombone. The USC Thornton Chamber Singers were represented by sopranos Wong, Karen Miskell and Katelyn Isaacson; altos Krysta Sorenson, Serena Eichhorn and Curran Mahowald; tenors Nolan Frank, Ben Lee, Karsten Longhurst and Ryan Jones; and basses Davy Chinn, James Laff, Nathan Fryml and Delac.

USC classical musicians back up Elton John at the Emmys

September 23, 2013

Elton John (left) with his band and USC Thornton student musicians perform at the Nokia Theatre during the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. As in years past, USC alumni maintained a strong presence among the Emmy nominations, with several taking home awards. Among this year’s winners were Keith Dinielli ’96, producer of The Voice, in the category of Outstanding Reality-Competition Program; Peter Gould, MFA ’90, co-executive producer/writer of Breaking Bad, in the category of Outstanding Drama Series; and Jack Shih, MFA ’97, director of animation for South Park, in the category of Outstanding Animated Program.

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