Arts
Lesson of a Lifetime
- Bradley Grasl takes a few notes from professor Yehuda Gilad.
- Photo/Courtesy of Make-A-Wish Foundation
By Suzanne Wu on September 12, 2008 3:31 PM
Bradley Grasl practices his clarinet six hours a day.
“Well, I do take one 15-minute break,” he admitted.
The 17-year-old from Detroit says he’s seeking perfection in his music, especially since his diagnosis two years ago with epithelioid sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that forms tumors in soft tissue.
So when he was approached by the local Michigan chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Grasl eschewed a Disney-themed wish - the most popular request the foundation receives - for a master class with a different type of marquee idol, USC Thornton School of Music professor Yehuda Gilad.
A charismatic musician and conductor, Gilad is widely considered the best clarinet teacher in the country. Gilad’s students occupy the top chairs in highly regarded orchestras around the world - including the New York, Stockholm and Seoul Philharmonics - and include Bradley’s teacher, Shannon Orme, a USC Thornton graduate who is now a bass clarinetist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
“I was honored and humbled,” said Gilad of being tapped by Grasl to fulfill his wish. “It is a pleasure and privilege to do something for the right reason, with a lot of depth and feeling.”
On Sept. 8, Grasl took his first trip to Los Angeles, attending a master class with about 15 current USC Thornton clarinet students the next morning. In the afternoon: his first private lesson with Gilad. “He’s a genius. He’s hilarious,” Grasl said.
“(Bradley) responded to what I said and what I tried to get out of him,” Gilad said of the lesson. “We talked about finding his own voice that belongs to him and only to him.”
While in Los Angeles, Grasl will have three private lessons with Gilad, during which he plans to play Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1.
“I mean, if there’s nothing to improve, then it wasn’t a good lesson. There are definitely things for me to work on, and no one works as hard as me,” said Grasl, who hopes to someday be a professional classical clarinetist with a symphony orchestra.
On Sept. 9, he also attended rehearsals for the USC Trojan Marching Band and the USC Thornton Symphony.
The high school senior is now preparing for college auditions, an extremely competitive process. On his very short list of dream schools: the USC Thornton School of Music.
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USC in the News
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The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
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