ASCAP Names 2001 Morton Gould Young Composer Award-Winners

On April 30, ASCAP Foundation President Marilyn Bergman announced the 26 winners of the 2001 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards.

Congratulating the award recipients, Marilyn Bergman said, “The Morton Gould Young Composer Awards provide recognition and encouragement for gifted young composers under the age of 30. We congratulate the recipients and extend thanks to the dedicated panel of ASCAP composers whose difficult task was to choose from among 435 submissions.”

Established in 1979, this ASCAP Foundation program recognizes composers under 30 years of age whose works are selected through a juried national competition. Morton Gould, who served as President of ASCAP and The ASCAP Foundation from 1986-1994, was among America’s most eminent and versatile composers. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1995. Honoring Gould’s lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators, the annual ASCAP Foundation Young Composer program was dedicated to his memory following his death in 1996. The winning composers share prizes of over $30,000, including the Leo Kaplan Award, honoring the distinguished jurist who served for twenty-eight years as ASCAP Special Distribution Advisor.

The 2001 Winners were welcomed to the ASCAP family and presented at the second annual ASCAP Concert Music Awards on May 24, 2001at Lincoln Center‘s Walter Reade Theatre in New York. ASCAP’s Concert Music Honorees included:

Leonard Slatkin, renowned Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra and champion of American composers and the music of our time; Fred Sherry, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Merkin Concert Hall for “A Great Day in New York”; John Corigliano, 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra; Tan Dun, 2001 Academy Award Winner for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Chen Yi, Charles Ives “Living” Fellowship; H. Robert Reynolds, retiring Director of University Bands and Instrumental Studies at the University of Michigan School of Music, for his career long efforts to commission American repertory for Concert Band and Wind Ensemble; Martha Mooke, composer/electric violist, for conceiving and producing ASCAP’s Thru the Walls Showcases, for composers whose music defies stylistic boundaries, with support from Tony Visconti, legendary record producer and Showcase Host. Peter Schickele served as Master of Ceremonies.

The 2001 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards recipients are: Randall Bauer of Princeton, NJ; Brian Current of Toronto, Canada; Emily Doolittle of Halifax, Nova Scotia; Jason Eckardt of New York, NY; Paul Fowler of Brookfield, WI; Jefferson Friedman of New York, NY; Michel Galante of San Francisco, CA; Brooke Joyce of Princeton, NJ; John Kaefer of Basking Ridge, NJ; Daniel Kellogg of New Haven, CT; Nancy Kho of New Haven, CT; Michael Klingbeil of Urbana, IL; David McMullin of Boston, MA; Leah Muir of Bennington, VT; Carter Pann of Ann Arbor, MI; Vineet Shende of Western Springs, IL; Gregory Spears of Virginia Beach, VA; Mischa Zupko of Kalamazoo, MI; and Craig T. Walsh of Tucson, AZ.

The following composers were recognized with Honorable Mention: Kristen Kuster of Ann Arbor, MI; Nathan Michel of Charleston, SC (a former Assistant Editor of NewMusicBox); Brian R. Nelson of San Antonio, TX; and Joshua Penman of New Haven, CT.

The ASCAP Foundation has made special Awards for composers under the age of 18: Preben Antonsen (age 10) of Berkeley, CA; Julia Scott Carey (age 14) of Wellesley, MA; Sebastian Chang (age 13) of Orange County, CA; Ann Fontanella (age 12) of West Chester, PA; Sheridan Seyfried (age 16) of Oreland, PA; Natasha Sinha (age10) of Milton, MA; and Alex Temple (age 17) of Boston, MA. [Be sure to check out Frank J. Oteri’s talk with Natasha Sinha, the youngest Award winner, in the July 2001 issue of NewMusicBox.]

The following composers under the age of 18 received Honorable Mention: Nathan Bello (age 14) of Portland, OR; Christopher Lim (age 12) of New York, NY; Marcus Macauley (age 15) of Mercer Island, WA; Kyung Sun Min (age 17) of Milton, MA; and Joseph Sowa (age 16) of Hartford, CT.

The six ASCAP composer/judges for the 2001 competition were: Chen Yi; Eve Beglarian; Jennifer Higdon; Paul Lansky; P.Q. Phan; and Roberto Sierra.

The ASCAP Foundation supports the American composer and the development of American music through educational programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants to young composers, music education programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and music lovers throughout the United States.