New York Virtuoso Singers to Present ASCAP Young Composer Awards Concert

The New York Virtuoso Singers, Harold Rosenbaum, Conductor and Artistic Director, will present ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards Concert, the second event of their 2016-17 concert season on Saturday, May 20 @ 8:00 PM at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, 552 West End Avenue, New York, NY.

Repertoire will include World Premieres of 10 Commissions by recent ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award winners Anahita Abbasi, Emily Bear, David Biedenbender, Will Cooper, Elizabeth Kelly, Emily Koh, Michael Lee, Alexander Liebermann, Jared Miller & Eric Nathan. More about the concert at nyvirtuoso.org/season.html.

Special guests will be The Canticum Novum Youth Choir, Edie Rosenbaum, Director, Emily Bear, piano and Cameron O'Connor, guitar.

This Award honors the late Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and former ASCAP Foundation President Morton Gould's lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators. Open to composers of original, classical concert music, it encourages developing music creators during the earliest stages of their careers. Many of todays' most well-known composers won this award in their youth. More about the award and the event at www.ascap.com/news-events/articles/2017/04/harold-rosenbaum-concert.

Tickets for the May 20 concert are $25 general admission, $20 Students/Seniors. For tickets or more information, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2564144.

Emily Bear (born 2001) is an American composer and pianist who has received notice at an early age. After beginning to play the piano and compose music as a small child, Bear has played her own compositions and compositions by others with orchestras and ensembles in North America, Europe and Asia, at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and the Montreux Jazz Festival. She has won two Morton Gould Young Composer Awards and was the youngest person ever to win the award. She has also won two Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Awards. Visit her at mlebear.com.

Guitarist Cameron O'Connor enjoys a diverse career in solo, chamber, and contemporary music. Recent and current performance engagements include those with John Adams, Michael Tilson Thomas, the New York Virtuoso Singers, and Boston's Firebird Ensemble. His website is at www.cameronoconnor.com.

Founded in 1988 by conductor Harold Rosenbaum, The New York Virtuoso Singers has become the country's leading exponent of contemporary choral music. Although the chorus performs music of all periods, its emphasis is on commissioning, performing and recording the music of American composers. The choir appears on over 40 commercial CDs, including releases on Bridge, Albany and Kasp. Their latest release is Virtuoso Choral Works, Volume 1: Works by Hoover, Davies and Lipten on the 4Tay label. More about the CD at www.jamesarts.com/4tay. More about the Virtuoso Singers at www.nyvirtuoso.org/aboutus.htm. Join their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-York-Virtuoso-Singers/130509011774.