The USC Thornton School of Music frequently faces emerging needs that require more immediate attention. With this crucial support, we can promptly address these needs at the dean's discretion. 

One priority for the dean this year is to provide a season full of enriching public programs. This season includes Quincy Jones: Beyond Category, a year-long event series celebrating, exploring, and elevating Quincy Jones’ life and work. This series is presented by the Thornton School of Music in collaboration with USC’s Visions and Voices and the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective. Produced with the full support of Quincy Jones and his family, "Quincy Jones: Beyond Category" will celebrate his work as a pioneering cultural figure and illuminate his legacy as a musician, instrumentalist, composer, conductor, arranger, songwriter, producer, film and television producer, entrepreneur, investor, social activist, and philanthropist.