BMI's Student Composer Competition Opens

Ralph N. Jackson, BMI President and CEO of Del Bryant, announced the opening of the 58th annual BMI Student Composer Awards competition.

The BMI Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded in 1985 to encourage musical
ambition, creation and performance through awards, grants, scholarships and commissions. 
More than 95 percent of donations go to charitable grants.
The competition, consisting of student composers under 28-years-old, will award $20,000
in prizes. Students from North, South and Central America, Hawaii and the Caribbean are
eligible to apply. However, the competition closes Feb. 5, 2010.
First enacted in 1951, the Student Composer Awards began as a way to encourage young
composers to follow their musical dreams and continue their music education.
Notable alumni consist of William Bolcom, George Crumb, Mario Davidovsky, Philip Glass,
John Harbison, Aaron Jay Kernis, Donald Martino, Steven Mackey, Christopher Rouse, Joseph
Schwantner, Michael Torke and Charles Wuorinen.
Awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 are distributed based on final judging, as the
compositions are judged under pseudonyms.
For more information and entry forms, visit www.bmifoundation.org