NEW YORK, May 31, 2023 – The ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams today announced the recipients of the 2023 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, which encourage talented young creators of concert music ranging in age from 13 to 30.

“For more than four decades, the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards have recognized some of the best up-and-coming concert music composers and it is a thrill to play a part in their developing careers,” said The ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams. “We congratulate all of our award recipients and look forward to their future achievements.”

“These awards are just one of the many ways that The ASCAP Foundation supports emerging music creators,” said The ASCAP Foundation Executive Director Nicole George-Middleton. “We are extremely grateful to our judges and funding partners for enabling us to deliver this important program that helps nurture young talent.”

The 2023 Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipients are listed below with their current residence, and place of origin. Recipients under the age of 18 are listed by state of residence: 

Liam Cummins of New York, NY (Mansfield, OH); Sophia Kunxu Dou of NY; Grace Ann Lee of Ann Arbor, MI (Seoul, South Korea); Jacky Jiaqi Liu of New York, NY (Beijing, China); Reid Merzbacher of Brooklyn, NY (Cambridge, MA); Marc Migó of New York, NY (Barcelona, Spain); Yash Paz of New York, NY (Princeton, NJ); Alyssa Regent of New York, NY (Guadeloupe); Dorian Tabb of NY; Ziyi Tao of Forest Hills, NY (Beijing, China);  Alex Tedrow of Washington, DC (Shoals, IN); Isabelle Tseng of Gainesville, FL; Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg of Tenafly, NJ; Yiqi Xue of Kansas City, MO (Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China); Christian A. Yom of NY; and Charlie Zhong of MA.

The following composers received Honorable Mention (recipients under the age of 18 are listed by state of residence): 

Lucy Chen of MD; Sean Danielson of Chicago, IL (Muscatine, IA); Yaz Lancaster of New York, NY (Mountain View, CA); Albert K. Lu of MD; Johnny MacMillan of Rochester, NY (Toronto, Canada); Christopher Duong Nguyen of Canton, GA (Rome, GA); Cole Reyes of Brooklyn, NY (Bartlett, IL); Gabriel Stossel  of Cleveland, OH (Columbus, OH); and Philina Hanyi Zhang of NY.

Marc Migó was recognized by the panel with the 2023 Leo Kaplan Award, created in memory of the distinguished attorney who served as ASCAP Special Distribution Advisor. The award is funded by the Kaplan Family.

The 2023 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards composers/judges were: Lisa Bielawa, Patrick Grant, Joseph Jones, Shuying Li, Tamar Muskal, Jorge Sosa and Kathleen Tagg.

Established as The ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Awards in 1979 with funding from The ASCAP Foundation Jack and Amy Norworth Fund, the program grants cash prizes to concert music composers up to 30 years of age whose works are selected through a juried national competition. These composers may be American citizens, permanent residents or students possessing U.S. student visas.

In addition to The ASCAP Foundation Jack and Amy Norworth Fund, The ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund also provides financing for the Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Caesar was best known as the lyricist of “Tea for Two” and “Swanee,” while Jack Norworth wrote such standards as "Shine On Harvest Moon" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." 

The annual ASCAP Foundation Young Composer program was dedicated to Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Morton Gould’s memory following his death in 1996 to honor his lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators.  A child prodigy himself, Gould’s first composition was published by G. Schirmer when he was only six years of age. Gould served as President of ASCAP and The ASCAP Foundation from 1986 – 1994.

About The ASCAP Foundation

Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs, and public service projects for senior composers and lyricists. The ASCAP Foundation is supported by contributions from ASCAP members and from music lovers around the world. www.ascapfoundation.org

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Press Contact:

Cathy Nevins | ASCAP
cnevins (at) ascap.com