SEVENTH ANNUAL ASCAP FOUNDATION AWARDS

The seventh annual ASCAP Foundation Awards and Scholarships Reception were presented on December 4 at the Walter Reade Theater at Manhattan's Lincoln Center. The event, hosted by ASCAP Foundation President Marilyn Bergman, honored a wide variety of Award, Scholarship, Fellowship and Residency recipients, all of whom benefit from programs of The ASCAP Foundation. The evening was highlighted by the presentation of The ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award to Broadway lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim for his lifetime achievements in the American musical theater. Sondheim is the composer-lyricist of the Broadway classics A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, Pacific Overtures and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He also served as the lyricist for the legendary musicals, West Side Story (music by Leonard Bernstein) and Gypsy (music by Jule Styne). Sondheim's catalogue of songs includes "Everything's Coming Up Roses," "Somewhere" and "Send in the Clowns." The ASCAP Foundation is dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging the development of American music through educational programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, music education programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The programs of The ASCAP Foundation are supported by contributions from ASCAP members and music lovers throughout the United States. Lori McKenna, recipient of The ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award, performs her song "Hardly Speaking A Word."

Pictured at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater at The ASCAP Foundation Awards reception are (l-r) Alan Bergman, ASCAP Foundation President Marilyn Bergman, Foundation Board member Mary Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim following the presentation to Sondheim of The ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American Musical Theater. Louis Armstrong Scholarship (Queens College) - Boosey & Hawkes Scholarship honoring Aaron Copland - Leiber & Stoller Scholarship - Leonard Bernstein Fellowship at Tanglewood - Max Dreyfus Scholarship (NYU Tisch) - Henry Mancini Music Scholarships - Michael Masser Scholarship - Dreyfus/Warner Chappell/CCNY Scholarship - Ira Gershwin Award (LaGuardia HS) - and Frederick Loewe Scholarship (NYU Tisch) - Morton Gould Young Composer Award - Rudolf Nissim Prize - Richard Rodgers New Horizon Award - and ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award - ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award -

THE GIFT OF MUSIC The ASCAP Foundation was incorporated in 1975 after the estate of Jack Norworth, writer of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," left a bequest with instructions to create a program to honor and support young songwriters and composers. Since that time, The ASCAP Foundation has been the fortunate recipient of many gifts and bequests from ASCAP members and music lovers throughout the country. The students pictured on these pages are a small sampling of those who have benefited from the generosity of our donors. In keeping with these efforts to grow and strengthen The ASCAP Foundation, we are pleased to announce that The ASCAP Foundation has recently received two generous gifts. Richard Adler, who for five decades has been writing popular music and musical theater, has established The Richard Adler-ASCAP Foundation Musical Theater Development Program which is designed to nurture new composers, lyricists and librettists. Jay Morgenstern, a veteran of over 40 years in the record and music publishing industries, has established The Fran Morgenstern Davis Scholarship which will be presented annually to two music composition students at the Manhattan School of Music. If you are interested in establishing a program at The ASCAP Foundation or discussing gift options, please don't hesitate to contact us at 212-621-6588.

Foundation Awards Photos

For more information on the work of The ASCAP Foundation,
visit http://www.ascapfoundation.org.