New York, NY, June 6, 2005: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) honored four choral ensembles for adventurous programming during the 2004-05 concert season at the Chorus America Annual Conference held June 1-4 at the Chicago Hilton in Chicago, IL. The Awards, offered annually to constituent members of Chorus America, are presented in appreciation for performances of music written within the past twenty-five years.

In presenting the Adventurous Programming Awards, ASCAP Board Member and Co-Chair of the Symphony and Concert Committee, Stephen Paulus, commented: “2005 marks the thirteenth year ASCAP has presented awards to members of Chorus America whose programs in the past season prominently featured works written within the past twenty five years. ASCAP members know that when their music is selected and programmed by members of Chorus America, dedicated musicians, will prepare, rehearse and perform their work with conviction. No composer can ask for anything more."



The ensembles honored with plaques and cash awards were:

Adult Chorus Awards (two awards)
VocalEssence (Minneapolis, MN)
Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director

Volti (San Francisco, CA)
Robert Geary, Artistic Director

Youth/Children's Chorus Category
Young People's Chorus of New York City
Francisco Núñez, Founder/Artistic Director

Alice Parker Award: All Choruses
Pacific Chorale (Santa Ana, CA)
John Alexander, Artistic Director

The ASCAP/Alice Parker Award was established in 2003 to honor legendary ASCAP choral composer and conductor, Alice Parker, in celebration of her 75th year. The award is presented annually to the choral ensemble that expands the mission of the chorus by presenting challenging repertory to its audience in new ways. Previous recipients include Bella Voce (2004), and Baltimore Choral Arts Society (2003).

About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading Performing Rights Organization in the U.S., representing the world's largest repertory which totals over 8 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 210,000 composer, lyricist and music publisher members. Additionally, ASCAP represents the works in the repertories of 70 affiliated foreign performing rights organizations created by many thousand affiliated international members. ASCAP is committed to protecting the rights of its members by licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance of their copyrighted works, and then distributing these fees to the Society's members based on performances. Unlike the other American Performing Rights Organizations, ASCAP's Board of Directors is made up solely of writers and publishers, elected by the membership every two years.
www.ascap.com