Click the links below to read bios and listen to mp3 clips of the winning songs:
1st place: "Goodday" by Andrew Horowitz	2nd place: "Abandoned Angel" by Joel P.W. Dean and Megan Kirschbaum	3rd place: "Food-Mud" by Mikhail Tarasov
Honorable Mentions:
"Waiting After You" by Robert DuBois	"That's When I Miss You" by Michael Mahler	"Where You Always Will Be" by Adam Wright

Berklee College of Music students Joel P.W. Dean and Megan Kirschbaum shared the 2nd Place award and a $5,000 scholarship for their song "Abandoned Angel." Mikhail Tarasov, also a student at Berklee College of Music, was the 3rd Place winner and received a $5,000 scholarship for his song "Food-Mud."

Andrew Horowitz	Joel P.W. Dean	Megan Kirschbaum

Honorable Mentions and $1,000 scholarships went to University of Northern Colorado student Robert DuBois for "Waiting After You," Northwestern University student Michael Mahler for "That's When I Miss You," and University of Montevallo student Adam Wright for "Where You Always Will Be."

Mikhail Tarasov	Robert DuBois

The 2004 judges included esteemed jazz specialist Suzan Jenkins, legendary record producer Russ Titelman, and record producer and hit Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn. The preliminary judges were Beka Callaway, Samantha Cox, Charles Feldman, J.W. Johnson, Wardell Malloy and Erica Tompkins, all from BMI's New York based Writer/Publisher Relations team. Thousands of students representing schools from every state participated in the competition this year.

Adam Wright	Michael Mahler

Established by Yoko Ono in 1997 in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, the John Lennon Scholarships have been made possible through generous donations from Ono with matching funds from Gibson Musical Instruments. Over $125,000 has been awarded over the last seven years to students from select colleges, universities and music schools, and from national submissions from Music Educators National Conference (MENC) chapters.

The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 97% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.]]> 2004-05-12T19:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233724 Fried, Jaide , Baker, Stacy Allyn, Lennon, John, Mardin, Arif, Ono, Yoko, Wildhorn, Frank, Country, Jazz, Pop, Foundation, John Lennon Scholarship BMI Foundation President Ralph N. Jackson has announced the winners of the 6th annual John Lennon Scholarships, a program that recognizes the talent of young songwriters between the ages of 15 and 24. This year's winners include University of Miami senior Jaide Fried, who received first place honors and a $5,000 scholarship for her piece "Love Me Tonight." Jaide was awarded the top prize at a special presentation during the recent BMI Pop Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on May 13.

Jaide Fried Listen | Bio

Stacy Allyn Baker Listen | Bio

Melissa Cartoun Listen | Bio

Berklee College of Music student Stacy Allyn Baker was named second place winner for her song "Too Late For Love Songs," and received a $2,500 scholarship. Third place winner Melissa Cartoun, a student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, also received a $2,500 scholarship for her winning piece entitled "25."

The 2003 judges included legendary record producer Arif Mardin, record producer and hit Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn, and esteemed jazz specialist Suzan Jenkins. Thousands of students from across the country participated in the competition this year.

Established by Yoko Ono in 1997 in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, the John Lennon Scholarships have been made possible through generous donations from Ono with matching funds from Gibson Musical Instruments. Over $100,000 has been awarded over the last six years to students from music schools, universities, youth orchestras and submissions from the Music Educators National Conference (MENC).

The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 95% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.]]> 2003-05-28T18:00:01-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233133 Artists, Hyde, Preston, Frances, Wildhorn, Frank, Yeston, Maury, Musical Styles, Musical Theatre BMI's Musical Theatre department welcomed renowned composer Frank Wildhorn to the BMI family with a cocktail reception on June 10. Fellow composers, friends and BMI executives were on hand to congratulate him on his many accomplishments.

Wildhorn is best known in the theater world for the music to the smash Broadway musicals Jekyll & Hyde, The Civil War and The Scarlet Pimpernel, which earned eight Tony nominations combined. All three shows ran simultaneously in 1999, making Wildhorn the first American composer in two decades to achieve this success. But his musical scope goes well beyond Broadway, and his songs have been performed by such diverse stars as Whitney Houston, Liza Minnelli, Trisha Yearwood, the Moody Blues, Hootie and the Blowfish and Dr. John.

BMI Tony Award winning composer Maury Yeston, BMI President and CEO Frances Preston and Frank Wildhorn

BMI's Frances Preston, singer/performer Linda Eder (and Frank's wife), Wildhorn, Songwriters Hall of Fame President Linda Moran and BMI's Jean Banks

photos: Gary Gershoff

But Broadway is still the center of a certain universe - if you can make it there, well . . .

In 1999, Wildhorn became the first American composer in more than two decades to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde, The Civil War and The Scarlet Pimpernel. Inspiring a legion of devoted fans - to put it mildly - these productions yielded eight Tony nominations, national tours, a cast and a concept album from each, and a reputation for Wildhorn as the man who brings a contemporary passion and voice to the grand staging of classic tales.

Songs from Jekyll & Hyde (music by Wildhorn, book & lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) such as "Someone Like You," "A New Life," and "This Is The Moment" have been featured at the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Miss America Pageant, the 1996 Democratic National Convention and the Inauguration of President Clinton.

The French Revolution adventure The Scarlet Pimpernel (music by Wildhorn, book & lyrics by Nan Knighton) yielded the Top 40 AC hit "You Are My Home," a duet recorded by Peabo Bryson and Linda Eder, Wildhorn's "wife and muse." A star of the original production of Jekyll & Hyde, Eder has released four albums, all written and co-produced by Wildhorn.

His music has been performed by artists of an astounding variety of styles: a representative sample includes Whitney Houston (the international hit "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"), Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews (new songs for Broadway's Victor/Victoria), Trisha Yearwood, Travis Tritt, Patti La Belle, Bebe Winans, Betty Buckley, Ben Vereen, the Moody Blues, Jeffrey Osborne, Jennifer Holliday, Molly Hatchet, John Raitt, Hootie and the Blowfish, Blues Traveler and Dr. John.

Wildhorn's new theatrical projects include next year's Broadway-bound Dracula (book lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton), which premiered last fall in California, as well as the still-developing Camille Claudel (to star Eder); Bonnie & Clyde; Cyrano; Scott and Zelda; and a full-length ballet, Natasha.

The XIX Olympic Winter Games aren't just about athletes and world-class competition. The music is world-class, too, and BMI composers are contributing much of what will be heard by a worldwide television audience at the opening and closing ceremonies.

David Foster

John Williams

Kurt Bestor

Michael Kamen

Five-time Oscar winner John Williams has written his fourth Olympic theme, "Call of the Champions." A rousing fanfare that utilizes the full symphonic and choral forces of the Utah Symphony and the 350-voice Mormon Tabernacle Choir, it also is believed to be the first Olympic theme to set to music the ancient motto "citius, altius, fortius" (Latin for "swifter, higher, stronger").

"The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation," says Williams, "the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us." The composer previously penned themes for the Olympics in 1984, 1988 and 1996, winning an Emmy for his "Summon the Heroes" theme for the '96 games in Atlanta.

Williams will conduct his five-minute piece at the Opening Ceremonies in Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium on Friday, February 8, the composer's 70th birthday.

Salt Lake City composer Kurt Bestor, an Emmy winner for his music for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, has, with partner, Sam Cardon, written a five-minute piece for the Closing Ceremonies. It will be heard as the athletes march into the stadium with the flags of each of their respective nations.

"It's scored for full orchestra, adult choir and children's choir, as well as a plethora of world instruments. It will sound like a big celebration," says Bestor. The choirs will be singing words like "jubilation" and "celebration" in various languages. "This is the culmination of three weeks which we hope will be nothing but joyous," he adds. "The music will say that."

Grammy-winning songwriter-producer David Foster and his wife Linda Thompson Foster have penned a song based on this year's theme, "Light the Fire Within," to be sung by Leann Rimes after the lighting of the Olympic torch. The Canadian-born Foster - who composed the theme for the '88 games in Calgary and the '96 Olympic song "The Power of the Dream" - became an American citizen just last year. Another Foster tune, "The Prayer" (with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager), will be performed by Charlotte Church and hot new artist Josh Groban during the closing ceremonies.

Famed Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn is also unveiling "Gold," a song from his upcoming theater piece Camille Claudel, during the opening ceremonies.

Michael Kamen, who contributed music to both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Atlanta games, returns with a 10-minute piece (also on the theme of "Light the Fire Within") that will feature no fewer than 1,000 ice skaters during the Opening Ceremonies.

Kamen applied his gifts in several musical arenas: The Utah Symphony and Mormon Choir are supplemented by a rock & roll band, former Queen guitarist Brian May on electric guitar, a boy soprano, tribal rhythms and a 150-voice children's choir, all in the service of a story about "a child of light, all very hopeful and positive," he says.

"The Olympics, historically," Kamen points out, "were always a gathering not just of athletes but of artisans. Music has always been as much a part of the Games as epic poetry and players. The arts have always combined with the physical prowess of athletes to express ourselves as human beings. That's what the Olympics are about."