CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF NotationsNEWSLETTER MAKING MUSIC GROW SPRING 2015 ISSUE JOAN BAEZ, GARTH BROOKS, BILLY JOEL, STEPHEN SONDHEIM AND STEVIE WONDER RECEIVE ASCAP CENTENNIAL AWARDS FIVE MUSIC GREATS RECEIVE HONORS AND STAR-STUDDED TRIBUTE AT WALDORF ASTORIA GALA BENEFITTING THE ASCAP FOUNDATION Pictured from (left to right): Sting, Bernadette Peters, event underwriter, ASCAP Board member and Sony ATV Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier, ASCAP Foundation Executive Director and event producer Karen Sherry, ASCAP Centennial Award Honorees Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, ASCAP EVP of Membership John Titta, ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams and former ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento. ASCAP presented its singular, once-in-a-lifetime ASCAP Centennial Awards to Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, Stephen Sondheim and Stevie Wonder on Monday, November 17th, at a gala party at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City celebrating ASCAP’s historic 100th anniversary and benefi ting The ASCAP Foundation. The event, hosted by ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams, fea- tured the Centennial Award recipients as well as special guest artists who performed in tribute to the honorees. Sting and Chris Botti teamed up for an energetic performance of “Big Man on Mulberry Street,” before introducing the evening’s fi rst honoree, Billy Joel. Joel expressed his gratitude for the Award and then delighted the crowd with a performance of “New York State of Mind.” Trisha Yearwood paid tribute to her husband Garth Brooks before proceeding with a loving performance of “If Tomorrow Never Comes.” Garth humbly accepted his award before performing his new song “I Am A Song,” for the fi rst time. Bernadette Peters spar- kled with her performance of “Children Will Listen” in honor of Stephen Sondheim before Emmylou Harris paid a heartfelt tribute to Joan Baez by singing “Diamonds And Rust.” Joan took the stage for a powerful performance of “Forever Young.” Stevie Wonder was the evening’s fi nal honoree. He was welcomed to the stage with a fi ve-song medley by India.Arie, which featured songs including “Rocket Love,” “Blame It On The Sun” and “I Just Called To Say I Love You.” Stevie brought the entire crowd to its feet with a powerhouse performance of “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” and “Superstition.” As a special treat, several young ASCAP Foundation award recipients were on hand to showcase their talent, including Emily Bear, Lydia Caesar, John Fullbright, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Billboard was the media sponsor for the event. The event marked the fi rst-ever fundraiser benefi ting The ASCAP Foundation and its music education, talent development and humani- tarian activities. The ASCAP Foundation, for which Paul Williams also serves as President, was established in 1975 and is a 501(c)(3) chari- table organization whose programs impact countless deserving composers, songwriters, lyricists and music education organizations nationwide. Funds raised from the evening will help sustain the Foundation’s signifi cant eff orts in safeguarding the future of music and aff ording opportunities for memorable music experiences to the disadvantaged. • SEE THE NEWLY‐CREATED ASCAP FOUNDATION VIDEO ON OUR WEBSITE! • CENTENNIAL AWARDS FUNDRAISER • MUSIC THERAPY FOR APHASIA • ANNUAL AWARDS • HERB ALPERT YOUNG JAZZ COMPOSER • SONGWRITING WITH: SOLDIERS CEREMONY PICTURES AWARDS • CHILDREN WILL LISTEN • DONOR HONOR ROLL In This Issue • KENNEDY CENTER • CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023 ~ 212-621-6219 ~ [email protected] ~ www.ascapfoundation.org ~ @ascapfoundation Page 2 THE ASCAP FOUNDATION Notations NEWSLETTER Spring 2015 TALENT DEVELOPMENT 2015 HERB ALPERT YOUNG JAZZ COMPOSER AWARDS ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams has announced the recipi- ents of the 2015 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards. Established by The ASCAP Foundation in 2002 to encourage gifted jazz composers up to the age of 30, the program carries the name of the great trumpet- er and ASCAP member Herb Alpert in recognition of The Herb Alpert Foundation’s multi-year fi nancial commitment to support this unique program. The recipients, who receive cash awards, range in age from 16 to 30, and are selected through a juried national competition. From left to right: ASCAP Foundation Executive Director, Karen Sherry, with Commenting on the awards, Paul Williams said, “Ingenuity and talent Award judges Sachal Vasandani, Ted Piltzecker and Chuck Iwanusa, ASCAP’s characterize all of our Young Jazz Composer honorees. The future of Cia Toscanini, ASCAP Foundation Director, Colleen McDonough jazz has never sounded brighter. We congratulate the recipients and extend our gratitude to the dedicated panel of ASCAP composers who selected the honorees. We are delighted to partner with The Herb Alpert Foundation in this signifi cant ongoing endeavor.” The Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award recipients will be honored during ASCAP’s Jazz Wall of Fame event at ASCAP on June 15. The 2015 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award recipients are: Caio Afi une, 25; Quentin Angus,27; Bryson Barnes, 29; Bryn Bliska,22; Lorenzo Carrano, 27; Mike Conrad, 26; Rafael Piccolotto de Lima,29; Nick Finzer; 26;Jon Hatamiya, 23; Josh Johnson, 25; Gene Knifi c, 22; Pascal Le Boeuf, 28; Guy Mintus, 23; Adam Neely, 26; Mark Ninmer, 16; Scott Ninmer, 26; Christopher Ott, 27; Josh Plotner, 22; John Raymond,29; Michael Schreier,23; Erica Seguine,27; Jeremy Siskind, 28; David von Kampen, 28; Marcus Wilcher, 30; Zac Zinger,26; Christopher Zuar, 27. Composers receiving Honorable Mention this year are: Colleen Clark, 26; ArcoIris Sandoval, 27; Drew Zaremba, 23. The ASCAP composer/judges for the 2015 competition were: Chuck Iwanusa, Ted Piltzecker, and Sachal Vasandani. Additional funding for this program is provided by The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund. About The Herb Alpert Foundation The Herb Alpert Foundation, a non-profi t, private foundation established in the early 1980’s, makes signifi cant annual contributions to a range of programs in the fi elds of Arts, Arts Education and Compassion and Well Being. Its funding is directed toward projects in which Herb and Lani Alpert and Foundation President Rona Sebastian play an active role. [The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.] • THE ASCAP FOUNDATION SONGWRITERS: THE NEXT GENERATION SHOWCASES ARTISTS’ ORIGINAL WORK AT THE KENNEDY CENTER Songwriters: The Next Generation, a program of The ASCAP Jameson Rodgers Natalia Zukerman Foundation and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Per- forming Arts, which is made possible by the Bart Howard Estate, showcased the work of five emerging songwriters and composers on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage on March 25 and 26, 2015. The program featured the origi- nal works of five ASCAP members including: Jameson Rodgers, Jacob Webb & Todd Schefflin (The JT Project), Natalia Zukerman and Sara McDonald. Each evening’s hour-long program, is designed to spotlight the talent of young songwriters and composers, and is hosted by ASCAP singer/songwriter and arts entertainment producer Larry Jacob Webb & Todd Scheffl in Groce who is also one of the founders of Mountain Stage, a (The JT Project) Sara McDonald live music program on NPR. • Spring 2015 THE ASCAP FOUNDATION Notations NEWSLETTER Page 3 MUSIC HEALS DIVISION MUSIC THERAPY FOR APHASIA Music Therapist Yi Wei (l) works with patients suff ering from Aphasia, the loss of speech following a stroke or brain trauma. A participant’s improved communi- cation ability enables their engagement with friends, family and larger society. The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function Music Therapy Clinic for Apha- sia® has witnessed follow-up benefi ts such as renewed confi dence and social engagement. One participant who had plateaued in traditional speech therapy showed such remarkable gains in just two months that his case was presented at the National Speech Therapy Association’s annual meeting by the Executive Director of the National Aphasia Association. His improvement is directly attrib- utable to ASCAP Foundation funding as he could not aff ord the session fee. • SONGWRITING WITH: SOLDIERS SongwritingWith:Soldiers operates from a simple principle – pair returning ac- tive duty soldiers and veterans with professional songwriters in a retreat set- ting to craft songs about personal experiences in a way that helps heal their pain and uplift their spirits. During these three day retreats songs are co-cre- ated based on the soldiers’ stories of combat and returning home using col- laboration and creativity to foster mutual understanding, respect, and healing. Over the last two years, SongwritingWith:Soldiers has produced over 160 songs of loss, triumph, struggle and resilience with more than 120 vets. Their stories be- come songs that can be sung and shared forever. As a 2014 participant said about the experience, “I can’t believe something so painful could turn into some- thing so beautiful.” This program is proudly supported by The ASCAP Foundation.• MUSIC EDUCATION “CHILDREN WILL LISTEN” Kids may know about the great Broadway theater tradition but – let’s face it – tickets are expensive! The ASCAP Foundation has a solution for this and thanks to generous donors, our “Children Will Listen” program, named in honor of ASCAP member and musical theatre great Stephen Sondheim, was estab- lished to bring the musical theatre experience to young students. Recently, 75 fi fth graders from the Anna Silver School, located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, got the opportunity