Patrice Rushen in Dialogue and Performance
This event will feature Patrice Rushen, Associate Professor of Practice at USC's Thornton School of Music, and will be moderated by Regina Carter, newly appointed Professor in the Department of Music at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. The event will open with a dialogue between Patrice Rushen and Regina Carter and will be followed by a solo piano performance by Patrice Rushen.
Patrice Rushen is an award-winning musician and composer who is also one of the most sought-after artists in the music industry. She is a classically trained pianist who originally found success in the 70s and 80s with her signature fusion of jazz, pop and R&B. During this era, she composed and recorded the hit song, “Forget Me Nots,” which has been frequently covered and sampled by other artists. Rushen is also a four-time Grammy nominee who has composed scores for movies and television. She has been the first female musical director for many of the entertainment industry’s top award shows, which include the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, the NAACP Image Awards, and HBO’s “Comic Relief V.”
The highly-acclaimed jazz violinist Regina Carter is a recipient of the MacArthur “genius” award and a Doris Duke Artist Award, Regina has been widely hailed for her mastery of her instrument and her drive to expand its possibilities. In 2018 she was named artistic director of the New Jersey Performing Arts All-Female Jazz Residency, a unique summer immersion program for aspiring women jazz professionals. In December of that year she was nominated for a Grammy for Best Improvised Solo for “Some of That Sunshine,” the title track on vocalist Karrin Allyson’s album. Past positions have included artist in residence at the Oakland University School of Music, Theatre, and Dance; resident artist for San Francisco Performances; and resident artistic director for SFJAZZ.
