Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses the community outreach programs that she runs at the school, and the effect they have both on the USC students that participate and on the school students around Los Angeles with whom they partner. She also shares some pointers for others who run similar programs at other institutions.

Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses the mission and goals of The Midori Center for Community Engagement – what it is, what it does, and why "community" means to the Center anything from "the Los Angeles school community" to "the community of guitarists nationwide" or "board members of music nonprofits," and more.

Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses why she chose a career in music education over one in performance, and the series of decisions that she had to make in order to determine that this choice was the right one for her.

Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses the various positive effects that an education in music can have on the lives of students.

Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses her work doing community outreach in the area around Los Angeles. She emphasizes the need for her programs to take into account the needs of the community, and discusses some of the programs she runs and what the benefits are to both USC’s population and to the students in the schools that USC partners with.

Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses some ways in which the school’s performing ensembles regularly engage in outreach and education programs, and what the benefits are for everyone involved.

Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses the outreach programs she runs, and the benefits she sees accruing to the middle- and high-school students from around Los Angeles that participate in them, from simply being exposed to new kinds of music to the opportunity to be mentored by a USC student. She also discusses what students at USC who participate in the program gain from interacting with and teaching music to young people in the community at large.

Susan Helfter, Director of Outreach Programs and Music Education at USC’s Thornton School of Music, discusses how the programs she runs are funded, run, and managed.