<p>The Thornton School of Music is over 125 years old. It has a long established classical guitar department as well as jazz and studio guitar. Christopher Parkening received his Bachelor of Music in 1969 at USC and then taught classical guitar there for some years.</p>
<p>The department chair of classical guitar is now Brian Head. He has been a recording artist with Delos, Denon and Digital Revolution. He has performed with the New World Symphony and other symphonic groups and has played at venues across the country.</p>
<p>Pepe Romero is also on the classical guitar faculty. He has performed worldwide for Prince Charles, Pope John Paul II and was knighted by Spain. He has been a soloist with the London, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia Symphonies.</p>
<p>Grammy Award winner, Scott Tennant, is a founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quintet and the author of “Pumping Nylon” among other writings. He won 1st Prize at the Tokyo International Guitar Competition and is known for his interpretations of Spanish guitar music.</p>
<p>William Kanengiser is another Grammy Award winner on the classical guitar faculty. He has won major international competitions as well as two grants from the Natinal Endowment for the Arts. Kanengiser has been the teacher of Mak Grgic, the Slovenian classical guitarist, who made his debut with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and has received excellent revues for his recent performances in the U.S.</p>
<p>Thornton is located in a huge entertainment center. A unique feature of Thornton is the interaction among the students in Thornton, the USC School of Dramatic Arts, Roski School of Fine Arts and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Adding to these art schools will be the Kaufman School of Dance in 2014.</p>