The ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams has announced the recipients of the 2022 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, which encourage talented young creators of concert music ranging in age from 13 to 30.
“We couldn't be happier to recognize this incredibly talented group of young composers, who represent the future of concert music, said Williams. “Positive reinforcement during a music creator's early career can be so valuable. We are grateful to our judges for their commitment to The ASCAP Foundation to support this program."
The 2022 Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipients are listed below with their current residence, and place of origin. Recipients under the age of 18 are listed by state of residence: Benjamin Baker of Kansas City, MO (Pleasant Plain, OH); Alex Berko of Houston, TX (Cleveland, OH); Paul Berlinsky of Kansas City, MO (Miami Beach, FL); Anuj Bhutani of Austin, TX (Houston, TX); Aiyana Braun of Philadelphia, PA (Ardmore, PA); Shengnan Cao of Kansas City, MO (Beijing, China); Bryn Davis of St. Paul, MN (Richmond, VA); Baldwin Giang of Chicago, IL (Malvern, PA); Soomin Kim of Minneapolis, MN (Uijeongbu, South Korea); Joel Kirk of Buffalo, NY (Manchester, United Kingdom); Cheng Jin Koh of New York, NY (Singapore); Sam Kohler of New Orleans, LA (Eugene, OR); Daniel Leibovic of Houston, TX (Richmond, VA); Maxwell Lu of New York, NY (Dayton, MD); JP Merz of Los Angeles, CA (Janesville, WI); Celka Ojakangas of Los Angeles, CA (Springfield, MO); Siddharth Pant of CA; Marco-Adrián Ramos Rodríguez of New Haven, CT (Betonville, AR); Lucy Shirley of Kansas City, MO (Indianapolis, IN); Sage Shurman of CA; TianSongfeng of Kansas City, MO (Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, China); Meilina Tsui of Orlando, FL (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and Casey Weisman of CA.
The following composers received Honorable Mention (recipients under the age of 18 are listed by state of residence):
Tugrul Orkun Akyol of Davis, CA (Istanbul, Turkey); KiMani Bridges of Bloomington, IN (Louisville, KY); Victor Cui of Baltimore, MD (Beijing, China); Matthieu Foresi of WA; Aidan Gold of New York, NY (Seattle, WA); Camilo Gonzalez-Sol of Austin, TX (Takoma Park, MD); Liu Yizhang of Kansas City, MO (Hunan, China); Chuyi Luo of NY; Quinn Mason of Dallas, TX; Jordan Millar of NY; Chris Neiner of Cleveland Heights, OH (Burnsville, MN); Luca Pasquini of CO; Grant Shueh of NJ; Eunike Tanzil of New York, NY (Medan, Indonesia) and Isabelle Tseng of FL.
Baldwin Giang was recognized by the panel with the 2022 Leo Kaplan Award, created in memory of the distinguished attorney who served as ASCAP Special Distribution Advisor. The award is funded by the Kaplan Family.
The 2022 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards composers/judges were: Svjetlana Bukvich,Daniel Felsenfeld, Yotam Haber, Felipe Lara, Fang Man, Jessica Mays, Shawn Okpebholo and Jorge Sosa.
Established as The ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Awards in 1979 with funding from The ASCAP Foundation Jack and Amy Norworth Fund, the program grants cash prizes to concert music composers up to 30 years of age whose works are selected through a juried national competition. These composers may be American citizens, permanent residents or students possessing U.S. student visas. In addition to The ASCAP Foundation Jack and Amy Norworth Fund, The ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund also provides financing for the Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Caesar was best known as the lyricist of “Tea for Two” and “Swanee,” while Jack Norworth wrote such standards as "Shine On Harvest Moon" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
The annual ASCAP Foundation Young Composer program was dedicated to Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Morton Gould’s memory following his death in 1996 to honor his lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators. A child prodigy himself, Gould’s first composition was published by G. Schirmer when he was only six years of age. Gould served as President of ASCAP and The ASCAP Foundation from 1986 – 1994.
About The ASCAP Foundation
Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers around the world. www.ascapfoundation.org.
