Being comfortable on stage has never been a challenge for Sophia Condon. The sophomore and popular music performance major will be performing at this year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the USC stage.

Condon’s musical journey began in Connecticut, where her parents were music directors at a church. After this piqued her interest, she performed in theater productions, studied at a performing arts program and eventually toured as a featured vocalist with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band Yes at 16 years old.

“I was having so much fun [on tour] … and I was like, ‘I want to just do this,’” Condon said. “If I could just always be performing and on the road and just with a bunch of musicians, I would be so happy.”

Fortunately for Condon, Thornton’s popular music program cultivates a similarly collaborative and dynamic environment. With creativity and free exploration at the forefront, she finds there to be little concern over competition or judgment.

“I can be backing up somebody as talented as Sophia, and then she’ll have the grace to turn around and sing for me or write something for me … and it doesn’t feel transactional,” said Sawyer Rabin, Condon’s friend and collaborator as well as a sophomore majoring in popular music performance.

Attending and performing in student showcases brings the cohort’s hard work to life. Yet, it hardly feels like work — some musicians’ favorite memories are when everyone comes together and has a blast on the showcase stage.

“When we get to those [the midterms and final showcases for pop performance classes], it feels really rewarding, because we put in all this work and we’re just having fun on stage together and playing some iconic songs that also sound really good, because everybody in my cohort is so talented,” Condon said. “It’s just really cool to see the hard work that they put in, because it’s kind of an unmatched level.”

At USC, Condon has gained skills that have, in turn, improved her stage presence.

“When we walked in, she was just naturally comfortable on stage,” Rabin said. “Seeing her start to understand who she is as a person … she’s now doing it through this perspective that is more true to herself than it was at the start of freshman year. I’ve seen her grow into this amazing human being, and now I can see it almost reflected in her performance.”

Over time, Condon has been able to merge her passion for music with her love for dance, creating a more rounded performance that showcases her talents.

“She has a good combination of determination and focus, but also fun. That creates really good effects for not just the band, but for the audience,” said Finn Vora, Condon’s guitarist and friend as well as a sophomore majoring in popular music performance.

Despite her current multifaceted approach to performing, before starting at USC, Condon had never practiced songwriting.

“I came here and I fell behind at first,” Condon said. “I was like, ‘Oh shoot. Everyone else is writing songs, maybe I should get on that.’”

Being surrounded by peers who had songwriting experience was both humbling and motivating for Condon. Rabin had to learn how to pull ideas out of Condon, inspiring her new work.

“I’m just glad that we’re at a place as friends that we feel so comfortable to reach that level of vulnerability when we’re creating stuff,” Rabin said.

He attests to trying to encourage her to say the first thing that pops into her head, because despite her hesitations, “it’s usually a pretty damn good idea.” The two are synergistically and musically linked, fostering what they find to be a natural and successful collaboration.

One of the most challenging aspects of operating in a creative space is the inevitable dread of burnout, especially when college deadlines constrain the creative process. Finding ways to keep the creative juices flowing while balancing schoolwork and independent living is a hardship that Condon, despite her professionalism and composure, is not immune to.

Staying home, cleaning her apartment and engaging with her creative side in more relaxing ways are strategies Condon uses to recover from burnout. She finds that journaling and watching friends perform help her stay in the music mindset without the pressure or vulnerability associated with singing and songwriting.

Condon gravitates toward a range of musicians for inspiration. Ariana Grande is one of her favorites — “She’s my pop princess.” Others include Fiona Apple, Joni Mitchell and the ’70s rock band Heart.

For whatever is next for Condon, her friends and collaborators are honored to be along for the ride.

“I feel like she’s gonna be famous, and I’m just gonna be like … ‘Please take me on tour.’ My future boss,” Rabin joked.

At the Festival of Books, Condon will be playing a combination of covers and original songs, including a new song, “Grace,” written in collaboration with Rabin, and another written with her drummer, Theo Pleasure-Park, a junior majoring in popular music performance.

Vora helps arrange songs for Condon’s shows, including the Festival of Books. However, he ultimately states the final decisions are up to her.

“She’s the boss. It’s her show,” he said.

Outside of the festival, Condon plans to release original music and record her first music video soon.

“I’m excited for it,” Condon said with a smile. “It’s gonna be fun.”