While USC students, members of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and parents settled into their seats, the Thornton Symphony Orchestra’s warm-up echoed through all three levels of Bovard Auditorium — a lively cacophony that signaled the concert to come.

On Friday evening, the orchestra began Thornton School of Music’s 2025-26 Signature Series and concluded its Season Kickoff Week with “An Evening of Ellington & Rimsky-Korsakov.” Merging the jazz and classical worlds, the program set the stage for a night of unexpected energy.

After an introduction from Thornton Dean Jason King, resident conductor Sharon Lavery gave a brief presentation of the program, featuring Duke Ellington’s “Night Creature” and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” Lavery also thanked the jazz, percussion and instrumental departments for making the collaboration possible. The concert was the culmination of two weeks of preparation, with three rehearsals each week.

To perform Ellington’s “Night Creature,” a rhythm section from the USC jazz department joined the symphony. A lone jazz bassist stood — distinct from the symphony bass section — next to a piano and drum kit, all between the second violin and viola sections.

A few minutes past 7:30 p.m., the music began with the first movement of “Night Creature,” “Blind Bug.” The playful energy of the piece flowed through head bobbing from the audience, transforming the auditorium into a jazz club. A constant drum set groove drove the piece as simple repeating melodies from the winds and bass interrupted the singing strings.

“Stalking Monster,” the second movement of “Night Creature,” began with the low notes of the piano accompanied by the drumstick’s dance on the high hat. The spirited melody rippled through flute, oboe, bassoon, violin and trumpet soloists.

“I was really excited for the Duke Ellington because we seldom get to play jazz and especially orchestral jazz,” said Dennis Papazyan, a junior majoring in flute performance. “Especially as someone who loves jazz, and to play with the jazz combo and experience that orchestration, I thought it was great, and I really hope that Thornton does more of this cross-genre stuff.”

The piercing echo of bongos bounced around the walls of Bovard, beginning the third and final movement, “Dazzling Creature.” Out of the percussive introduction, a trumpet soloist rose, using a plunger mute to weave a gritty texture into the growing sound. Each section added layers of harmonies, overflowing Bovard with a grand, resonant energy.

Sandy Jin, a freshman majoring in applied and computational mathematics who attended the concert, reflected that she enjoyed the composition of “Night Creature.”

“I really like the first piece they played … it combined the jazz music with classical instruments,” Jin said. “I think it’s a very innovative piece.”

Continuing a theme of innovation, the orchestra moved to Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” which told the story of “The Thousand and One Nights” — or “The Arabian Nights” — in which the clever Sultana saves herself from execution by captivating the Sultan with unfinished stories night after night.

“In this day and age, since [Scheherazade] was written so long ago, it seems academic, but at its soul, it is such an experimental piece with the orchestration and the decisions that [Rimsky-Korsakov] makes,” Papazyan said.

Between the two pieces, the stage and house lights briefly dimmed as the setup was rearranged into a more traditional formation. The strings formed an arc across the front, with winds and brass seated on a slightly higher level behind them and the percussion section positioned at the back.

Scheherazade consisted of four distinct movements, each including cadenzas. Maia Law, the concertmaster and a second-year masters student majoring in violin performance, played the role of Sultana. Each cadenza began alongside a harp melody before the violin took over, singing with phrases that spanned the instrument’s entire range. Jin attended the performance after being invited during her general education seminar, “Exploring Our Musical Campus.”

“[Law] came to our class and she shared some background about this concert and she also played some of her solos. I was really excited to see her perform tonight,” Jin said.

The bow of the concertmaster’s violin brought Sultana’s tales to life as the orchestra unfolded the symphony with vivid storytelling. Lavery danced atop the conductor’s podium, guiding the orchestra as the intensity swelled with each crescendo, culminating in a powerful, percussive finale.

“I was fully involved in the music and I think that was the main takeaway. Just us being involved in all of the moving colors of the orchestra, that’s why I like it,” said Samuel Guevara, a junior majoring in cello performance and music composition.

By pairing Ellington’s animated orchestral jazz with Rimsky-Korsakov’s deeply emotional orchestral storytelling, the Thornton Symphony Orchestra offered an evening that was both vivid and captivating.

“Both of [the pieces] were very different, but both of them felt very cohesive in a way because of how they had to do with storytelling,” Guevara said. The performance highlighted USC musicians’ technical talent while reminding the audience of the symphonic work’s enduring power to transform and connect.