Harold Shapiro Photo
William Boughton
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra has been recognized by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the League of American Orchestras for its dedication to new music.
The symphony received a second-place (in a category based on operating budget) “Award for Programming Contemporary Music” at the League of American Orchestras’ National Conference, at which ASCAP handed out its “Adventurous Programming” awards.
According to the ASCAP website, the New Haven Symphony was among the organizations that has “demonstrated exceptional commitment to contemporary composers.”
A press release issued by the symphony pointed out that it “was selected for the award in recognition of the orchestra’s commitment to contemporary music programming, which in the 2010 – 2011 season included works by Augusta Read Thomas and Jin Hi Kim.”
Thomas and Kim were composers in-residence at the New Haven Symphony during the past two seasons as part of Music Alive, a League of American Orchestras-administered Meet the Composer program.
Last year, the New Haven Symphony, under Music Director William Boughton, released a CD of works by William Walton. It was the first commercial recording released by the orchestra in 30 years.
Similarly, the New Haven Symphony was last recognized by ASCAP with an “Adventurous Programming” award three decades ago. Murry Sidlin was the orchestra’s music director at the time.