ASCAP Picks Best Young Composers

Start’ em young.

The ASCAP Foundation continued its dedication to the American composer when it named this year’s recipients of the annual Young Jazz Composer Awards on Nov. 24 in New York City.
Young is a loose term for ASCAP; any American citizen or permanent resident aged 12 to 30 is eligible for the competition, which asks applicants to submit a score and a recording of one original jazz composition. This year’s youngest recipient was Joey Schneider, a 15-year-old trumpeter from Novato, Calif. The oldest honorees were 27-year-olds Ayn Inserto and Michael E. Barile.

ASCAP founded the Young Jazz Composers Awards last year as a way to encourage young jazz players to compose new works. This year’s recipients were selected by ASCAP members and “old” jazz composers Frank Foster, Rufus Reid, and John Fedchock. The winners will split $25,000 in ASCAP Foundation awards. For more information on ASCAP competitions, or to download an application for next year’s Young Jazz Composer competition, visit www.ascapfoundation.org/awards.html

The 2003 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award recipients are:

Michael E. Barile, 27, New Orleans, LA; Nathaniel Beversluis, 26, Cincinnati, OH; Zaccai Curtis, Windsor, CT; Brian Eisenberg, 24, San Diego, CA; Jesse Elder, 19, Rochester, MI; Ross Garren, 18, Carmel, CA; John Russell Heer, 22, Los Osos, CA; Ayn Inserto, 27, Boston, MA; Camille Jentgen, 23, Tucson, AZ; Pascal Le Boeuf, 17, Santa Cruz, CA; Remy Le Boeuf, 17, Santa Cruz, CA; Michael MacAllister, 21, Boston, MA; Andrew Neesley, 24, Eau Claire, WI; Robert G. Reynolds, 26, Astoria, NY; Danny Rivera, 16, Bellerose, NY; Matthew D. Roberts, 21, N. Hollywood, CA; Scott Routenberg, 24, Miami, FL; Samuel Sadigursky, 24, Brooklyn, NY; Joey Schneider, 15, Novato, CA; Jeffrey Schneider, 16, Cos Cob, CT; Kenneth Shanker, 23, Brooklyn, NY; and Stephen C. Smith, 25, Wichita Falls, TX

The following composers were recognized with Honorable Mentions:

Adam Benjamin, 26, Los Angeles, CA; Alexander Brown, 16, Columbia, MD; Kirk Danielson, 18, Carmel, CA; Patrick A. Donaher, 28, Jamaica Plain, MA; Matthew Endahl, 18, Williamston, MI; Jeff Fairbanks, 23, Temple Terrace, FL; William David Fastenow, 21, New York, NY; Tyler Gilmore, 21, Riverton, WY; Lisa Harriton, 22, Granada Hills, CA; Ross La Fleur, 22, Charlotte, NC; Karl Liechty, 22, Indianopolis, IN; Aaron Lington, 28, Denton, TX; Todd Marcus, 27, Baltimore, MD; Charlie Smith, 24, Seattle, WA; Colin J. Stranahan, 17, Highlands Ranch, CO; Christopher Ziemba, 16, Williamsville, NY.

Originally Published December 2, 2003