NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 12, 2024 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the 20 recipients of its 2024 Awards in Music, totaling $465,000 in prizes to honor both established and emerging composers. Since 1942, music awards have been selected annually by Arts and Letters members to recognize and support fellow artists. The 300 members nominate candidates for the awards, and a rotating committee of composers select the winners. This year, the award committee members were Christopher Theofanidis (chair), Stephen Hartke, Shulamit Ran, Roberto Sierra, Wadada Leo Smith, and Chinary Ung.
Michael Fiday, Keith Fitch, Stephen A. Taylor and Amy Williams will receive Arts and Letters Awards of $10,000 each to acknowledge composers as artists who have arrived at their own voice. These awards are accompanied by an additional $10,000 grant towards the recording of a recipient’s work. Since 2015, works by the winners of these awards have been presented each spring in a concert in the Arts and Letters library.
The biennial Virgil Thomson Award of $40,000 for an exceptional American composer of vocal works will be given to Rhiannon Giddens. The annual Benjamin H. Danks Award of $20,000, given in rotation to a composer of ensemble works, a playwright, and a writer, will go to composer Aaron Helgeson.
The Andrew Imbrie Award in Music of $10,000, which recognizes a mid-career composer of demonstrated artistic merit, goes to Anthony Cheung. The biennial Wladimir and Rhoda Lakond Award of $10,000 for an experienced composer is being given to James W. Newton, Jr.
Two Goddard Lieberson Fellowships of $15,000 each, given annually to composers of extraordinary gifts, will go to Vijay Iyer and Žibuoklė Martinaitytė.
The Walter Hinrichsen Award, established by the C. F. Peters Corporation for the publication of a work by an American composer, will be given to Jesse Jones.
Since 1970, Arts and Letters has recognized outstanding composers with Charles Ives Fellowships and Scholarships. Two fellowships of $15,000 each will go to Fang Man and Susie Ibarra.
Elise Arancio, Jacob Beranek, Luke Blackburn, Liam Cummins, Isaac Santos, and Justin Weiss will receive Charles Ives Scholarships of $7,500 each.
The Charles Ives Living, which provides an income of $100,000 a year for a period of two years in order to free a promising talent from employment other than composition, will also be awarded in 2024 to Sean Shepherd. This award was previously announced in September 2023.
Committee chair Christopher Theofanidis noted: “The committee is proud to honor this exceptional group of composers, whose creativity and craft are an inspiration to all of us.”
The music awards will be presented alongside the architecture, art, and literature awards at the American Academy of Arts and Letters’s annual Ceremonial in May.
A full list of the 2024 music award recipients follows.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is an honor society of artists, architects, composers, and writers who foster and sustain interest in the arts. Our 300 members distribute over $1.2 million in awards annually; fund concerts and new works of musical theater; purchase and commission contemporary art for donation to museums across the country; and present exhibitions, talks, and events for the public at our historic buildings in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.
To learn more about the American Academy of Arts and Letters, please visit artsandletters.org
Media Inquiries for Music Awards
Ardith Holmgrain
(212) 368-5900
aholmgrain@artsandletters.org
Sean Shepherd
Michael Fiday, Keith Fitch, Stephen A. Taylor, Amy Williams
Rhiannon Giddens
Aaron Helgeson
Anthony Cheung
James W. Newton, Jr.
Vijay Iyer, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė
Jesse Jones
Fang Man, Susie Ibarra
Elise Arancio, Jacob Beranek, Luke Blackburn, Liam Cummins, Isaac Santos, Justin Weiss
For prior news announcements please write to info@artsandletters.org.