Sixteen composers have been chosen to receive awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The annual awards—totaling $205,000, with amounts that vary from composer to composer—go to Julia Adolphe, Billy Childs, Emily Cooley, Jason Eckardt, Paul Frucht, Erin Gee, Max Grafe, Scott Johnson, Paul Kerekes, Harold Meltzer, Alex Mincek, Polina Nazaykinskaya, Kevin Puts, Kurt Rohde, David Sanford, and Christopher Trapani. (Julia Adolphe is one of two composers, along with Melody Eötvös, selected by the League of American Orchestras, American Composers Orchestra, and EarShot to receive an orchestral commission as part of an initiative supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation for scores composed by women.) They were selected by Academy members Joan Tower (chairman), Samuel Adler, Martin Boykan, Mario Davidovsky, Stephen Hartke, Stephen Jaffe, and Aaron Jay Kernis. The awards will be presented in May at the Academy’s awards ceremony in New York City. The American Academy of Arts and Letters was founded in 1898 to “foster, assist, and sustain an interest in literature, music, and the fine arts.” Each year, the Academy honors more than 50 composers, artists, architects, and writers with cash awards ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. Candidates for music awards are nominated by the 250 members of the Academy.
Posted March 5, 2015
