Ebullient is not necessarily an adjective that might be associated with Sean McCoy. The 18-year-old dresses in black and sports stringy hair, black-rimmed glasses and nail polish.

But the young man didn’t seem to care about the wide smile he kept flashing.

“Ricky Minor let me play his bass,” McCoy said loudly in between bites of a sandwich he was eating in Alumni Park. “He gave me finger exercises to practice.”

That’s a big deal. Ricky Minor is, after all, the music director of the TV phenomenon American Idol. He is responsible for 45 musicians on the show and his band has helped lure such icons as Burt Bacharach, Barry Manilow and Prince.

All photos by Dietmar Quistorf

But on Feb. 4, Minor wasn’t playing to millions and millions on TV. He was inspiring one kid one at a time at the 21st annual Grammy Career Day, produced in partnership with the USC Thornton School of Music and the Gibson Foundation.

On that day, more than 1,100 young people visited campus to learn about the real possibility of a life in music. Some came from as far away as Las Vegas, but most were from just around the corner.

McCoy, a Narbonne High School senior in the Harbor Gateway area of south Los Angeles, would love to come to USC and study music, law or both. The idea of forming goals beyond high school may be the most important takeaway for many of his students, said Tim Suits, a Narbonne music teacher who brought 25 of his pupils.

“Bringing these kids on a college campus like this sells them on going,” Suits said. “It’s a very different environment than they are used to, and it’s a place they like to be. It really gets the kids thinking of possibilities.”

Music luminaries, including Jimmy Jam, a producer for Babyface and Janet Jackson; songwriter Lamont Dozier, who co-wrote hits for The Supremes and The Four Tops; and producer Mike Clink, who worked with Guns N’ Roses, are paired with engineers, agents and publishers in 11 workshops that focused on various aspects of the music business.

“The Thornton School is thrilled to partner with the Grammys on so many projects that enhance music education,” said Robert Cutietta, dean of the USC Thornton School of Music. “We work well together because our philosophies are so similar: supporting the excellence of music and education for all students and all styles of music.”

Ryan Renteria, left, and John Ardon came from Little Rock High School in Palmdale, where they play instruments in their church band.