BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN X-WR-CALNAME:Songs in the Key of Life at 50: Reimagined X-WR-TIMEZONE:Pacific Time (US & Canada) BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20261014T111756Z UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_53809479689426 DTSTART:20260925T020000Z DTEND:20260925T030000Z DESCRIPTION:A One-Night-Only Concert Experience at USC’s Bovard Auditoriu m\n\nMusical Direction by Greg Phillinganes\nDirected by Jason King\n\n\nP art of the USC Thornton School of Music Series Stevie Wonder: Beyond Categ ory\nWith Support from USC Visions & Voices and the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective\n\nMarking the 50th anniversary of one of the most ambitious and influential albums in the history of popular music\, Songs i n the Key of Life at 50: Reimagined brings Stevie Wonder’s landmark 1976 recording to the stage for a one-night-only concert at USC’s Bovard Aud itorium.\n\nReleased in September 1976 at the height of Wonder’s extraor dinary creative run\, Songs in the Key of Life is at once an epic musical statement and an intimate portrait of human experience. Across its extraor dinary range\, Wonder moves between love and heartbreak\, faith and doubt\ , childhood and memory\, racial injustice and collective possibility—dra wing from soul\, funk\, gospel\, jazz\, pop\, Latin music\, and traditions from across the African diaspora while creating a musical language unmist akably his own. Fifty years later\, its songs remain startlingly alive: mu sically adventurous\, emotionally direct\, socially engaged\, and filled w ith possibility.\n\nRather than simply recreate the album\, Songs in the K ey of Life at 50: Reimagined approaches this iconic body of work as living music. Featuring USC Thornton students\, faculty\, alumni\, and special g uest artists\, the concert will move between performances that honor the s pirit and sound of Wonder’s original recordings and fresh interpretation s that reveal new possibilities within the music.\n\nThe concert is musica lly directed by legendary keyboardist\, musical director\, and longtime St evie Wonder collaborator Greg Phillinganes\, whose relationship with Wonde r and this music spans decades\, and directed by USC Thornton School of Mu sic Dean Jason King. Together with Thornton students\, faculty\, alumni\, and special guests\, Phillinganes and King will explore the many worlds co ntained within Songs in the Key of Life—honoring the original recording while opening its music to new voices\, perspectives\, arrangements\, and possibilities.\n\nSongs in the Key of Life at 50: Reimagined is part of US C Thornton’s 2026–27 Stevie Wonder: Beyond Category series\, a year-lo ng exploration of Wonder’s singular artistic voice\, extraordinary music al innovation\, and enduring impact on music and culture. The series launc hes September 10 at Bovard Auditorium with a conversation featuring Philli nganes and special guests\, followed by the September 24 concert. Addition al events will be announced throughout the academic year.\n\nMusical direc tion by legendary keyboardist and longtime Stevie Wonder collaborator Greg Phillinganes and directed by USC Thornton Dean Jason King\, the concert i s part of the 2026–27 Stevie Wonder: Beyond Category series.\n\n--\n\nPL EASE NOTE: Stevie Wonder is not currently scheduled to appear or perform a t this event.\n\nAdmission is free and open to the public with an RSVP. Al l Thornton Signature Series Events have a standby line for fully booked ev ents. Seating is first-come\, first-served. Please arrive early to claim y our ticket and allow enough time for parking\, locating the venue\, and ch ecking in. If you arrive less than five minutes before the start time\, yo u will forfeit your spot to the waitlist/standby line. GEO:34.020914;-118.285537 LOCATION:Bovard Auditorium (ADM) SUMMARY:Songs in the Key of Life at 50: Reimagined URL;VALUE=URI:https://calendar.usc.edu/event/usc-thornton-songs-in-the-key- of-life-at-50-reimagined-20260924 CATEGORIES:Arts CATEGORIES:Music END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR