NURTURING MUSIC CREATORS

Marilyn Bergman, President and
Chairman of the Board

On a snowy night in December at Jazz at Lincoln Center's new headquarters on Columbus Circle in New York, the ASCAP Foundation presented its tenth annual Awards Ceremony. I had the great honor of helping to hand out scholarships and awards to many young, gifted songwriters and composers, all of whom benefit from programs of The ASCAP Foundation. While their music may vary, they share some things in common: they are all talented, committed and greatly enriched by music education. On the same evening, we also honored Billy Joel with the first ASCAP Foundation Champion Award for his outstanding support of music education over the years.

The ASCAP Foundation has a long history of developing and nurturing writers and composers at all stages of their development. I am especially pleased by two newly established programs that aim to reach and teach children at an early age. The first, "Children Will Listen," is a program created in honor of Stephen Sondheim that will bring the live musical theatre experience to young students nationwide. The other program, "Creativity in the Classroom," is designed to teach children about an aspect of music that is not often focused on in the schools, or anywhere else really: the importance of respecting the creative property of those who create music (See story on page 50). Not surprisingly, it is the very same message we continue to voice in Washington. We are closely monitoring a bill, HR 1201, that could make its way through Congress and threaten to overturn the Supreme Court's unanimous and applauded Grokster decision. We remain vigilant, and will stand firm against HR 1201 or any legislative vehicle that would weaken the technological protections of copyrighted material under the guise of "fair use."

Now, on to music education of another sort. ASCAP's "I Create Music" EXPO is just a few weeks away. This three-day conference, the first dedicated to songwriting and composing, is shaping up to be a landmark occasion. While the Society has long brought together top songwriters and composers with those members who are just starting out in our workshops, the EXPO is an unprecedented opportunity for members to gain knowledge, guidance and inspiration from some of the most celebrated songwriters, composers and producers across all musical genres. If you have not already registered, I urge you to do so.

Hope to see you all at the EXPO!