Raymond J. Lustig Wins
Rudolf Nissim Prize

The ASCAP Foundation has named Raymond J. Lustig as the recipient of The ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize. The Prize was awarded for Unstuck, a 17-minute work in three movements, which was selected from over 300 submissions. Lustig receives a $5,000 cash prize.

Lustig is currently a Doctoral Fellow at The Juilliard School where he studies with John Corigliano and Robert Beaser. He received his Master of Music from The Juilliard School and his Bachelor of Arts from Holy Cross College where he studied piano, composition and biomedical sciences. He returned to the music field in 2003, after working in biomedical research at Columbia University and Massachusetts General Hospital for nearly a decade. He studied composition with Samuel Adler, Jonathan Kramer, Sebastian Currier, Philip Lasser, Pia Gilbert, Conrad Cummings, Derek Bermel and Shirish Korde. His works have been commissioned and performed by the Avian Orchestra, which will record, You Catching. Lustig has been commissioned by the New York City Ballet's Choreographic Institute, The Juilliard Ensemble, violinist Ariana Kim and harpist Arielle Rodgers. He has composed for theatrical productions at New York's ACC Theater and the New York International Fringe Festival.

The Nissim Jury also recognized the following composers for Special Distinction: Cary Boyce (Bloomington, IN) for Dreams Within A Dream for soprano solo, chorus and chamber orchestra, a 40-minute work in five movements; Ricky Ian Gordon (New York, NY) for and flowers pick themselves… for soprano and orchestra, a 20-minute orchestral song cycle; Carter Pann (Boulder, CO) for Devil's Carousel, an 8-minute orchestral work; and Richard Sortomme (Mount Vernon, NY) for Culmination 1 for solo viola, orchestra and synthesizers, a 12-minute orchestral work.