@Mentions

Walden receives 2012 ASCAP/CMA Adventurous Programming Award

=DUBLIN, NH — For the past 24 years, Chamber Music America (CMA) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) have honored chamber music and jazz ensembles, festivals and presenters with Adventurous Programming Awards. The annual awards recognize U.S.-based professional ensembles and presenters for distinctive programming of new music composed in the past 25 years. The recipients were chosen by an independent panel of judges, who evaluated the applicants on the basis of their programming of recent works and innovations in attracting audiences to new music performances.

The Walden School will receive the 2012 award for Small Contemporary Presenter/ Festival in an awards ceremony on Sunday, January 15, 2012. The ceremony will take place at the Westin New York at Times Square (207 W. 43rd Street) in New York City. Cia Toscanini, vice president of concert music, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), will present the awards.

“This year’s award recipients represent some of the most exciting contemporary music programming in the country,” said Chamber Music America’s CEO, Margaret M. Lioi.

“Judging from the number of excellent applications that we received, new music is flourishing in the chamber music community. We are pleased to recognize these outstanding ensembles and presenters for their accomplishments.”

The 2012 CMA/ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award is the culmination of a highly accomplished year for The Walden School. In addition to the CMA/ASCAP award, The Walden School received a $35,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant in support of its 2012 Young Musicians Program; it received the 2011 New Music Educator Award from the American Music Center in honor of its creative philosophy and curriculum, as well as its contribution toward motivating and mentoring decades of successful students; and the School was named one of 50 finalists for the 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award (NAHYPA).

“The Walden School is tremendously honored by this recognition from CMA and ASCAP,” said Walden’s Executive Director Seth Brenzel. “The presentation of innovative, cutting edge and diverse artists on Walden’s Concert Series is an important component of our educational mission, and our participants and audiences alike reap the benefits.”

Brenzel added, “It is especially gratifying to receive this and other recognition as we begin several years of activities to mark the 40^th anniversary of the founding of The Walden School in 2012. It is also humbling to join past recipients of the CMA/ASCAP Adventurous Programming awards —organizations and ensembles we admire —such as the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the PRISM Saxophone Quartet, Monadnock Music, Del Sol String Quartet, and others Walden counts as partners and collaborators.”

“I was lucky enough to spend five summers at Walden as a member of the Walden School Players,” said Claire Chase, founder and Executive Director of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). “During my time there I was deeply inspired by the effortless way in which innovative programming, education and community involvement were integrated. Walden is a utopia among institutions! I cannot imagine an organization more deserving of this most important award.”

The Walden School received special notice for its collaboration between Walden, the Firebird Ensemble and the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music that commissioned 11 new works, eight by Walden faculty members and three by Walden student composers.

For a complete list of all recipients of the 2012 ASCAP Adventurous Programming Awards, visit www.chamber-music.org.

The Walden School, founded in 1972, is an acclaimed summer music school and festival offering programs that emphasize creative application, specifically through music improvisation and composition. In residence since 1983 on the beautiful campus of the Dublin School in Dublin, New Hampshire, the School provides an inspiring retreat-like environment ideal for creative music making. The School’s core programs include the Young Musicians Program for musicians ages 9 to 18, the Teacher Training Institute for music educators and the Creative Musicians Retreat for adult musicians. The School’s Concert Series showcases free public performances by renowned artists and ensembles that work closely with program participants. The Walden School is the successor organization to the Junior Conservatory Camp. To learn more, visit www.waldenschool.org.

Chamber Music America, the national service organization for the ensemble music profession, was founded in 1977 to develop and strengthen an evolving chamber music community. With a membership of over 6,000—including musicians, ensembles, presenters, artists’ managers, educators, music businesses, and advocates of ensemble music—CMA welcomes members representing a wide range of musical styles and traditions.  In addition to its funding programs, CMA provides its members with consulting services, access to health and instrument insurance, conferences, seminars and several publications, including Chamber Music magazine and a website, www.chamber-music.org.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 420,000 composers, songwriters, and publishers of every music genre. Founded in 1914, ASCAP is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and governed by its members. ASCAP licenses non-dramatic public performances and distributes royalties to its members. ASCAP makes obtaining permission to perform music simple and economical for all who wish to perform copyrighted music publicly.

Contact: Seth Brenzel, Executive Director
The Walden School
sbrenzel@waldenschool.org
415-648-4710 (office)

by Matthew Klahorst (WP)