BMI's Jazz Composers Workshop presents 29th Annual Summer Showcase Concert in NYC

The BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, a prestigious creative forum for musical exploration and development, will present the best new big band and jazz orchestra compositions created during the past year at the 29th Annual Summer Showcase Concert. The BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece modern repertory ensemble made up of leading New York musicians, will be featured at this FREE event held at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater (10 West 64th Street) on Tuesday, June 6th at 7:30 PM. Doors will be at 7 PM with seating first come, first serve.

Musical Director and GRAMMY Award nominee Andy Farber will be returning for the second year in a row to lead the program along with Associate Musical Director and GRAMMY Award-winner, Ted Nash. Farber teaches jazz composition and arranging at The Juilliard School in New York and he has written arrangements for legendary artists including Shirley Horn and Jon Hendricks, as well as symphony orchestras including the Boston Pops Orchestra. Outside of the jazz arena, Farber also composes music for media including TV commercials, TV shows, web series, documentaries, and feature films. Nash marks his return to the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop where he was a student in the early 90s. Among his many accomplishments, Nash is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra directed by Wynton Marsalis, as well as the Jazz Composers Collective. This year Ted Nash received two GRAMMY Awards for his big band compositions from Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom.

"It is my great pleasure to be back for a second season with BMI's Jazz Composers Workshop," said Farber. "This year's workshop yielded high caliber and these gifted writers will bring new energy to the jazz community. Ted and I are proud to present their new work at this year's summer showcase featuring the great talent of the BMI/ New York Jazz Orchestra."

Since its founding in 1939, BMI has been deeply involved in the Jazz community. This year's Jazz Composers Workshop continues BMI's support for jazz music with the annual Summer Showcase Concert to highlight another great year of jazz composers.

Following the performances, the BMI Foundation will award the 18th Annual Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize to the writer of the best new work composed in this year's BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. The judges include Slide Hampton, Chris Byars and Miho Hazama, winner of 2015's Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize. Past judges have included Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Alan Ferber, Darcy J. Argue, John Fedchock, Ingrid Jensen and more.

The winning composer will receive the Manny Albam Commission, named in memory of the Workshop's co-founder and longtime musical director, to compose a new piece for the 2018 concert. Dan Block, last year's winner, will premiere his commissioned work at this year's concert.

ABOUT BMI

Celebrating over 76 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in nearly 12 million musical works created and owned by more than 750,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI's repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com follow us on Twitter @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.'s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI's The Weekly and receive our e-newsletter every Monday to stay up to date on all things music.