LEIBER & STOLLER HONORED:
Songwriting Legends Receive President's Award at ASMAC's Annual Award Show
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(l-r): ASCAP member and ASMAC President John Clayton, Jerry Leiber, ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman, Mike Stoller and Alan Bergman. |
ASCAP PRESIDENT JOINS IN HONORING LEGENDARY SONGWRITING TEAM
ASMAC (the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers) held its annual dinner and award show in Santa Monica, California in June. The phenomenal rock n' roll, blues and cabaret song impresarios Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller collected the President's Award with ASMAC President John Clayton and ASCAP President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman officiating. Jazz legend Wayne Shorter participated in the honors and pianist/singer Corky Hale, Sally Kellerman and blues great Linda Hopkins added to the musical festivities in honor of Leiber & Stoller.
The legendary songwriting team of Leiber & Stoller virtually created Rock and Roll from 1950 on, when they began their partnership at the tender age of 17. They hit it big when they wrote "Hound Dog" for Big Mama Thornton in 1952. It was #1 for weeks on the Rhythm & Blues charts. It was then covered in 1956 by Elvis Presley and the rest is history. They went on to write "Jailhouse Rock," "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care," "Love Me," "Loving You," "Don't" and "Treat Me Nice" for Elvis.
Leiber & Stoller were honored by The Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 where they were presented with the coveted Johnny Mercer Award. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; they were awarded ASCAP's prestigious Founders Award in 1991. In 2000, Leiber & Stoller were presented with the Ivor Novello Award in London at the Grosvnor House where they were inducted by Sirs George Martin and Paul McCartney.
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Jane Antonia Cornish |
BAFTA HONORS BEST NEW BRITISH COMPOSER WITH INAUGURAL AWARD
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) recognized ASCAP composer Jane Antonia Cornish (pictured) as the inaugural winner of the Anthony Asquith Award for Best New British Composer. Just 29 when she wrote the score, Cornish represents BAFTA's first-ever female winner in a music category and the third woman in its history to receive a nomination for a musical score. Carly Simon previously received 1989 nomination honors for Original Film Score on Working Girl, while Anne Dudley collected a 1997 nomination for achievement in Film Music in The Full Monty. The award, presented by Joan Armatrading in London on May 8, honored Ms. Cornish for her soundtrack to the Jim Henson Productions feature film Five Children and It. Starring Kenneth Branaugh and Freddy Highmore, the acclaimed British film is set for wide U.S. release this summer from Warner Brothers. Cornish was a participant in the 2003 ASCAP Foundation Film Scoring Workshop in Los Angeles.
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(l-r): Chris Hajian, Tim Starnes, David Dyas, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nicholas, ASCAP's Harry Poloner, Ryan Shore, ASCAP's Nancy Knutsen, Adam Balazs, Music Supervisor Beth Rosenblatt, ASCAP's Sue Devine, Marcelo Zarvos, Rick Baitz and Deniz Ulben-Hughes. |
COMPOSERS WITH MUSIC IN FESTIVAL FILMS MEET IN NEW YORK
ASCAP's NYC Film & TV Department recently hosted a lunch, bringing together composers with films in the 2004 Toronto, 2005 Sundance and 2005 Tribeca Film Festivals. The lunch is one of the many events ASCAP sponors in an effort to help foster the composer and musician community.
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(l-r): Michael Todd, Denis Hannigan, Ray Colcord, Russ Landau and Shawn LeMone. |
A COMPOSER'S CRASH COURSE
IN RACING
Composer Ray Colcord races cars semi-professionally and invited some fellow composers, as well as ASCAP's Michael Todd and Shawn LeMone to feel the need for speed on a recent outing in California.
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(l-r): Duncan Watt (composer and panel moderator), ASCAP's Alex Rodriguez, Chris Hajian (ASCAP composer and panel speaker), ASCAP's Sue Devine, BMI's Roger Miller, composer/producer Tom Salta (Need For Speed Underground 2, Ghost Recon 2), BMI's Christine Iglesias and June Neira (A&R, Spirit Music Publishing). |
THE G.A.N.G.'S ALL HERE�AND THERE
The Third Annual Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) Awards were held this year at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. ASCAP was a cosponsor of both the awards and the conference. ASCAP's Shawn LeMone moderated a panel, "Covering Your Assets: Music Publishing Royalties," featuring speakers Todd and Jeff Brabec, Electronic Arts' Steve Schnur and game composer/ SCL Board member Billy Martin. G.A.N.G also held its first East Coast event - a panel discussion covering the topic of music publishing and its relationship to the video game industry. Featuring a wide array of panelists including established game industry composers and music publishers, the event was informative and enlightening to both students and game industry veterans alike. The event was hosted at Manhattan's SAE institute overlooking Herald Square. Moderated by composer Duncan Watt, panelists included Andrew Rodriguez (Manager Of Repertory, ASCAP), BMI's Roger Miller and Christine Iglesias composer/producer Tom Salta (Need For Speed Underground 2, Ghost Recon 2), composer/producer Chris Hajian (Inspector Gadget II, Celebrity Poker Showdown, G4TV) and June Neira (A&R, Spirit Music Publishing). Topics covered during the discussion included the basics of music publishing in the video game industry, and the role of the performing rights organizations in collecting royalties on behalf of composers and game publishers. Questions from the audience ranged from the basics of how PROs survey and collect from different media outlets to the opportunities arising for game composers and publishers to uncover new revenue streams through music licensing.
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(l-r): at a reception hosted by Mary Hofstetter, President & CEO of The Banff Centre are Bob Hunka, recently of Sony Pictures Entertainment, ASCAP's Nancy Knutsen, Alf and Sally Clausen and Los Angeles-based Consul General of Canada, Alain Dudoit. |
KEEPING UP WITH THE CLAUSENS
ASCAP'S Nancy Knutsen joined composer Alf Clausen at the Banff World Television Festival in Alberta, Canada in July. Alf presented a master class entitled "Simply Simpsonics," explaining how the songs and score to the long-running hit series, The Simpsons, are created. Clausen recently received two new Emmy nominations for his music on the show, making a grand total of 27 nominations and two wins.
"VIDEO GAMES LIVE"
"Video Games Live," the first major concert tour dedicated to the music and visuals from some of the most popular video games, made its debut at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
