CIM Composer Keith Fitch Wins 2024 Award In Music From American Academy Of Arts And Letters

One thing's certain about the work of Keith Fitch: it's not going unnoticed.

Earlier this week, CIM's head of composition was announced as the winner of a prestigious prize, one that comes in addition to two other significant honors earned within the last year. 

Specifically, he has received one of four 2024 Awards in Music from the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Letters. 

This arrived as Fitch was still celebrating the 2023 Composer Award from the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation and a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship. 

“I continue to be humbled and honored by all of this recognition,” said Fitch, head of composition at CIM since 2008. “There is so much great music in the world, and so many wonderful composers. Being acknowledged in this way, by my peers, is tremendously gratifying.” 

Fitch's Award in Music is his second from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an Honor Society fostering excellence in music, literature, and art. The award includes a monetary prize, a grant toward a recording, and a live performance on an Academy salon concert in spring 2025. 

The 2024 music jury consisted of composers Christopher Theofanidis, Stephen Hartke, Shulamit Ran, Roberto Sierra, Wadada Leo Smith, and Chinary Ung. The other three recipients of 2024 Awards in Music were Michael Fiday, Amy Williams, and Stephen A. Taylor.

Last April, Fitch was named a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, a prestigious award that put him in company with earlier winners Martha Graham, Aaron Copland, Philip Roth, and Thelonious Monk. His plan with that fellowship is to pen a work called Picasso's Guitar, inspired by instruments in the paintings of Pablo Picasso. 

All of these awards are in addition to Fitch's many earlier honors, which include three ASCAP Young Composer Awards, three National Society of Arts and Letters awards, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Copland House Residency, and awards from the Indiana Arts Commission, Ohio Arts Council, and the Fromm Foundation.

He also has enjoyed many performances. In addition to presentations by ensembles at CIM and members of The Cleveland Orchestra, Fitch counts performances by The Philadelphia Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, St. Luke's Chamber Orchestra, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among many others.

For more information about Fitch, visit keithfitch.com. For more information about American Academy of Arts and Letters, visit artsandletters.org.

Cleveland Institute of Music

The Cleveland Institute of Music empowers the world's most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential. Its graduates command the most celebrated and revered stages in the world as soloists, leading roles, chamber musicians, and ensemble members; compose meaningful, award-winning new repertoire; produce Grammy Award-winning recordings; and are highly sought-after teaching artists, administrators, and thought leaders. A testament to the excellence of a CIM education, more than half of the members of The Cleveland Orchestra are connected to CIM as members of the faculty, alumni, or both, and CIM alumni occupy hundreds of chairs in major orchestras worldwide. The school's increasingly diverse collegiate and pre-college student bodies benefit from access to world-renowned visiting artists, intensive study with CIM's stellar faculty, and the rich curriculum offered by CIM's partner, Case Western Reserve University. A leader among its peers, CIM is the largest presenter of free performances, masterclasses, and community concerts in the Midwest, hosting hundreds of events each year on campus and at locations regionwide, including Severance Music Center. Explore cim.edu to learn more.

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