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The Nissim Jury also recognized four composer with Special Distinctions: Mason Bates of New York City for "Sounds for his Animation" for synthesizer and chamber orchestra (duration 15'); Anthony Cirone of Menlo Park, California for "Pentadic Striations (Groovy Patters of Five)" for orchestra (duration 9'); Chambliss Giobbi of New York City for "Equus Turns" for orchestra (duration 12'); and John Musto of New York City for his "Piano Concerto" (duration 28').
The judges for this year's Nissim Award were: Michael Barrett, Artistic Director of the New York Festival of Song, and Co-Director of the Moab Music Festival; Paul Lustig Dunkel, Music Director of The Westchester Philharmonic, Resident Conductor of the American Composers Orchestra, and Co-Director, Music from The Copland House; and Gil Rose, Music Director of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and the Affiliate Orchestra for New Music at the New England Conservatory.
The Nissim Competition is funded by The ASCAP Foundation, through a bequest of the late Dr. Rudolf Nissim, former head of ASCAP's International Department. Nissim joined the ASCAP staff immediately after emigrating to the United States from Austria in 1940.
The Nissim competition is open to all ASCAP composer members with concert works requiring a conductor, that have not been professionally performed. To encourage the professional premiere of the prize winning work, ASCAP makes supplementary funds available. For more than twenty years, The ASCAP Foundation has been dedicated to nurturing gifted composers, and preserving our musical legacy by serving the entire music community through a variety of educational, professional and humanitarian programs.
| QuickBio: Justin Merritt |
| Justin Merritt was born in 1975 in Midland, Texas and currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana. He has studied piano, organ, horn, oboe and guitar. His experience as both composer and actor in many theatre productions, earned him the Cole Porter Fellowship at Indiana University. He has also received merit scholarships at Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas) where he received his Bachelor of Music degree, and the University of Indiana where he earned his Master of Music. Merritt was the 1999 winner of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble Competition. In addition, his recent works include a commission, "Klang," for Viola and Chamber Ensemble and "5 Preludes for Piano," two chamber operas, "Nocturno," and "Young Goodman Brown," and a children's ballet, "Rip Van Winkle's Dreams." |
