New York, NY, June 23, 2006: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) joined Chorus America in honoring four choral ensembles for their adventurous programming during the 2005-2006 concert season at Chorus America's Annual Conference, held June 7 - 10, 2006, at the Capitol Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. The awards, offered annually to constituent members of Chorus America, are presented in appreciation for performances of music written within the past 25 years.
Presenting the awards on behalf of the members of ASCAP, Frances Richard, ASCAP Vice President of Concert Music, said: "With these awards, we congratulate those choruses who sing and celebrate the music of composers of our time. These choruses not only preserve the great tradition of the "first art", choral music, but assure that their great tradition is alive and relevant in the 21st century."
The ensembles honored with plaques and cash awards were:
All Adult Choruses (two awards)
The Esoterics (Seattle, WA)
Eric Banks, Founding Director
Opus 7 (Kenmore, WA)
Loren W. Pont�n, Founder & Artistic Director
Children/Youth Choruses
The Jubilate Children's Choir (Chicago, IL)
Paul Caldwell, Artistic Director
Alice Parker Award: All Choruses
Seraphic Fire (Coral Gables, FL)
Patrick Dupr� Quigley, Artistic Director
The ASCAP/Alice Parker Award was established in 2003 to honor legendary ASCAP choral composer and conductor, Alice Parker, in celebration of her 75th year. The award is presented annually to the choral ensemble that expands the mission of the chorus by presenting challenging repertory to its audience in new ways. Previous recipients include Pacific Chorale, Bella Voce and Baltimore Choral Arts Society.
Frances Richard and ASCAP were also recipients of an award at this year's conference. Richard was presented with the 2006 Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art. Chorus America presents the award annually to honor an individual with a lifetime of significant contributions to the professional choral art.
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 240,000 composer, lyricist and music publisher members. ASCAP also represents the repertories created by the international affiliates of 70 foreign performing rights organizations. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American Performing Rights Organization owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com
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