The Cleveland Plain Dealer (6/11) and the Los Angeles Times Culture Monster blog (6/11) are among the news organizations reporting on awards to 26 orchestras given Thursday by the League of American Orchestras and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). The awards were announced at the League’s 64th annual conference taking place in Chicago from June 9 to 12. Donald Rosenberg reports in the Plain Dealer, “The Contemporary Youth Orchestra, a Cleveland ensemble led by Liza Grossman, won an award for adventurous programming Thursday…. The ensemble of high school and college musicians won third place in the category of Youth Orchestras on the basis of repertoire it played during 2008-2009 season. The repertoire included the world premiere of Ryan Gallagher’s Concerto for Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Synthesizer, Drum Set and Orchestra.” David Ng’s Los Angeles Times blog entry reported, “Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic won the Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming…. Another local winner was the Orange County High School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra, which received the Award for American Programming on Foreign Tours. The orchestra recently toured Australia, where they performed pieces such as Steven Stucky’s Fanfare for Los Angeles and Charles Ives’s Symphony No. 2.” Twenty-two other orchestras and festivals received awards for contemporary-music programming; in addition, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music won the John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music, and the Albany Symphony Orchestra (N.Y.) won the Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming. More information on the awards is available at ASCAP’s website.
Posted June 12, 2009
