New York Philharmonic Receives 'Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming'

The New York Philharmonic is to be honored today with a 2012-13 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, earning the Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming, at the League of American Orchestras 68th National Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The Philharmonic was selected for including in its 2012-13 season of educational programming works by contemporary composers Steven Stucky, Tristan Murail, Magnus Lindberg, and Wynton Marsalis as well as works by students from the Philharmonic's Credit Suisse Very Young Composers program.

"One of the primary ways that the New York Philharmonic and Music Director Alan Gilbert can serve our community is by blending our commitment to nurturing today's music with the resources and programs we have created to help advance music education," said Executive Director Matthew VanBesien. "It has been very gratifying to share works as wide-ranging as Wynton Marsalis's musical history of jazz, Tristan Murail's spectral piano concerto, and the inspiring works created by these Very Young Composers with our engaged and inspiring audiences. By bestowing this honor on us, ASCAP is supporting our approach to aim high."

The Orchestra will be presented with a plaque and $3,000 in recognition of its commitment to new music programming during the past season. The Leonard Bernstein Award for Educational Programming is presented to one orchestra whose educational programs integrate the music of our time and are creative, relevant, and based on the best practices of music education.

Through the Philharmonic's Musical Encounters program, the Orchestra introduced young audiences to Steven Stucky's Symphony, Tristan Murail's Le Désenchantement du monde, and Wynton Marsalis's Swing Symphony (Symphony No. 3). During Musical Encounters, school groups from grades 3 through 12 attend the Philharmonic's Open Rehearsals to witness the inner-workings of a dress rehearsal and participate in introductory workshops with Philharmonic Teaching Artists.

During the final Young People's Concert of the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra performed selections from former Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg's Feria, conducted by Assistant Conductor Case Scaglione. The theme of the past season's Young People's Concerts, designed for ages 6 to 12, was Music with an Accent, examining how composers have expressed various cultures through the orchestra. Mr. Lindberg's Feria was featured in the final Music with an Accent program, "Fiesta," which explored music evoking Spain.

During the concluding School Day Concerts of the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra performed the World Premieres of nine works by students in the Philharmonic's Credit Suisse Very Young Composer's program (CS-VYC). The works included CasSandra Stevens's Remembered Souls, Aaron Fig's In the Town and by the Ocean, Mia Micic's Raft Dino Spies, Hawa Sakho's Eagle / Tout est Bleu, Ashanti Espiritusanto's Notes of Musical Coolness, Graydon Hanson's Glash -Lunar Eclipse, Tengu Ahmad Irfan's Keraian, Aiyana Braun's Memories in Sand, and Jack Gulielmetti's Shades. This educational initiative - created by Young Composers Advocate Jon Deak, a noted composer and former Associate Principal Bass, who in May 2013 won ASCAP's Arnold Broido Award for his distinguished contribution to American music - enables public school students with or without a musical background to compose music that will be performed by Philharmonic musicians. In CS-VYC, students make every compositional decision, with Teaching Artists serving as mentors and scribes. Each season, more than 100 new works by these young composers are premiered by ensembles of Philharmonic musicians, or by the full Orchestra at the Philharmonic's School Day Concerts. Designed for school groups in grades 3 through 12, the Philharmonic's School Day Concerts introduce students from across the region to the symphony orchestra, important symphonic works, living composers, and musical fundamentals. Teachers attend free workshops to help prepare their students and receive advance lesson plans, complete with a CD.

The League and ASCAP present the awards each year to orchestras of all sizes for programs that challenge the audience, build the repertoire, and increase interest in music of our time. Approximately $725,000 has been bestowed on orchestras since the awards were established in 1947.

The Philharmonic was awarded a 2010-11 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, winning first place in the Awards for Programming of Contemporary Music, and two 2009-10 ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming: the Award for American Programming on Foreign Tours, and a First Place Award for Programming of Contemporary Music.