Tag Archive for: Ivie

In modern times, hopes and dreams fuel students’ efforts


Throughout the fall semester, I have attempted to cross the entire gamut of dreammakers. In just a few breezy months you’ve met Bear McCreary, renowned composer for film and television whose credit list includes Step Up 3D, Battlestar Galactica and The Walking Dead. You’ve been introduced to Rod Gilfry, the Grammy-nominated opera singer who has […]

Band got knocked down, got up again


Self-taught guitarist and junior Will Sturgeon was rejected twice from USC’s music industry major before landing in the new pop music program in 2010. Now record labels are pursuing the sophomore’s beachside pop rock group The Smiles. And after their latest show at the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip, Sturgeon and his indie band […]

Goals can succeed despite struggle


Rod Gilfry always dreamed of being a fighter pilot. But at 6-foot-2, Gilfry was already too tall for a fighter jet cockpit. In the years since he gave up those plans at age 17, Gilfry has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has acted and sung in 74 roles on prominent stages around the […]

Magazine founder shines light on others


Kevin Jones, a senior and budding venture capitalist, is the kind of boss everyone dreams of having. He is confident, cool and not in it for the money. He believes in the power of the media, but not in the misuse thereof, and is the facilitator of community-driven work. Jones is the founder of the […]

Composer found mentor at USC


At the age of six, Bear McCreary knew that he wanted to be a film composer. By 24, he was scoring Battlestar Galactica. As one of the select protégés of the late Elmer Bernstein (The Magnificent Seven, To Kill A Mockingbird) at the USC Thornton School of Music, McCreary was groomed for success in the […]

Alumnus proves ties pay off in long run


Richard Outten, professional screenwriter and USC alumnus, would not be among the handful of fantasy scribes that the average moviegoer associates with big-budget studio pictures. He has worked consistently since his first sale but is unlikely to market himself based on prestige or public demand in the way that Eric Roth, David Koepp or Akiva […]

Student uses his band as a way to pursue his career


Tyler Demorest — a music industry major and lead singer of the band Kiven — was once an outcast searching for friends and meaning. But hey, weren’t we all at the age of 12? Today, Demorest is still searching, but his findings are expressed fully through music. Originally from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Demorest moved […]

Student’s career starts at early age


Dan Blanck, a sophomore majoring in music industry, is a Bob Dylan fanatic. It’s uncharacteristic to see Blanck without a guitar case in hand, singing “Blood on the Tracks” under his breath. Record label co-founder Blanck shares more than lyrical depth and songwriting style with the folk-rock hero. They share a common dream. In the […]

Leaving behind medicine for music


Brian Ralston — renowned film composer and graduate of Thornton School of Music’s Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program — was once an emergency medical technician involved in clinical research for pharmaceutical companies and poised to apply to medical school. For any artist, starving or not, a career in medicine is a clear antithesis.