New York, NY, January 11, 2007: The ASCAP Foundation is pleased to announce that
Raymond J. Lustig has been named 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.
Dr. Rudolf Nissim, former head of ASCAP's International Department and a devoted friend of contemporary composers, established this annual prize through a bequest to The ASCAP Foundation. The Prize is presented annually to an ASCAP concert composer for a work requiring a conductor that has not been performed professionally. A jury of conductors selects the winning score.
Raymond J. 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.
Lustig was the winner of the 2006 Juilliard Orchestra Competition for
Unstuck, which was inspired by the experience of two of his grandparents afflicted with dementia. His program notes describe "...inwardly traveling back and forth together through their fractured lives via the chaotic reliving of memories, fragmented and distorted by the disease. The process inevitably spirals out of control, the downward trajectory punctuated by intermittent echoes of lucidity that fizz to the surface in the tangled cauldron of a mind in turmoil, until life breathes its last breath, the mind becomes flat, and peace and acceptance are reached."
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.
The judges for this year's Nissim Prize were:
Gisele Ben-Dor, Conductor Laureate of the Santa Barbara Symphony, and Conductor Emerita of the Boston Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra;
Gil Rose, Artistic Director of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP); and
Daniel Alfred Wachs, Music Director and Director of Orchestral Studies at Chapman University (CA), and Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre National de France.
About ASCAP Foundation
Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers throughout the United States.
www.ascapfoundation.org
