Following is BMI’s announcement of its 71st annual BMI Composer Awards, which were chaired by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.
Also announced was the inaugural Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Award, “introduced in recognition of the dedication and vision of the longtime chair of t he BMI Composer Awards.”
BMI and the BMI Foundation celebrated the honorees of the 71st annual BMI Composer Awards at a private ceremony held on May 15th at Chelsea Table and Stage in New York City. BMI Foundation President and BMI Executive Director of Classical Deirdre Chadwick, renowned composer and Chair of the Composer Awards Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and BMI Senior Vice President of Licensing David Levin presented the awards to six emerging composers for excellence in composition.
The BMI Composer Awards recognizes superior ability in music composition with annual awards totaling $20,000. This year, over 500 applications were submitted to the competition from young composers around the world, and all works were judged anonymously. BMI, in collaboration with the BMI Foundation, has awarded over 600 grants to young composers throughout the history of the competition.
“It’s such a privilege for all of us at BMI and the BMI Foundation to help discover the next generation of compositional talent,” said Chadwick. “This accolade is bigger than the award or the event tonight; it lets them know they are on their way, and that we are all excited to hear what comes next.”
This year, the inaugural Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Award was introduced in recognition of the dedication and vision of the longtime chair of the BMI Composer Awards. This distinct honor, formerly known as the William Schuman Award after the renowned American composer and founder of the Awards, was presented to 21-year-old Maxwell Lu, student of Andrew Norman at The Juilliard School, for having the most outstanding score. Lu also received the Carlos Surinach Award for being the youngest winner.
In addition to Lu, the 2023 award winners included the outstanding composers below:
Christian-Frédéric Bloquert – age 26, student of Richard Carrick, Andrew List, and Matthias Pintscher
Christopher John Michael Enloe – age 26, student of Kevin Puts at Peabody Conservatory
Seare Ahmad Farhat – age 26, student of Elizabeth Ogonek at Cornell University
Natasha Frank – age 25, student of Daria Novo at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Nick Kenworthy-Browne
Sofia Jen Ouyang – age 21, student of Andrew Norman at The Juilliard School
Honorable mention went to Charlie Zhong, a 16-year-old student of Tak-Cheung Hui and David Hodgkins at the Commonwealth School in Boston.
The evening also featured a performance of “Sadie’s Song” for flute and electronics by Ábel M.G.E., which was an award-winning score from BMI’s 2022 competition. Julianna Eidle of Cincinnati New Music Ensemble and Thrive Hip Hop Orchestra performed the work.
Preliminary judges for the awards included David Schober, Trevor Weston, and Alyssa Weinberg; final judges were George Lewis, Kevin Puts, and Elena Ruehr.