James Newton Howard & Hans Zimmer Nominated for Classical BRIT Awards

ASCAP composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer have been nominated for Classical BRIT Awards in the Soundtrack of the Year category. Howard was nominated for his scores to I Am Legend and also The Dark Knight, which he co-composed with Zimmer. These nominations come hot on the heels of Howard and Zimmer's recent Grammy and ASCAP Film/TV awards for their music to The Dark Knight.

Nominated in the Composer of the Year category are British composers Howard Goodall for "Eternal Light - A Requiem" and Nigel Hess for his "Concerto for Piano & Orchestra." Both nominees are PRS composers who license through ASCAP in the United States.

The 10 artists nominated for NS&I Album of the Year honors include Andrea Bocelli (SIAE), Hayley Westenra (PRS) and Mike Oldfield (PRS), all part of ASCAP's global community of members.

The Classical BRIT Awards, organized by U.K. trade body the BPI and supported by NS&I (National Savings & Investments), honor classical composers, performers and musicians from the U.K. and around the world. A majority of the nominations and winners are decided by the Classical BRIT Awards voting academy. NS&I Album of the Year nominees are compiled from the 10 biggest selling classical albums of 2008, and voted for via classicfm.com.

The 10th edition of the Classical BRIT Awards will be held at the Royal Albert Hall on May 14 and screened by national broadcaster ITV1 at 10.35pm on May 19.