The current Broadway season has theatre-goers scrambling for seats to shows from BMI’s ever-growing list of writers from the Tony-honored BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.

A CHORUS LINE
A revival of A Chorus Line opened Oct. 5, 2006, at the Schoenfeld Theatre in New York. The ground-breaking and record-breaking musical features lyrics by BMI writer Edward Kleban, who won the 1975 Tony, Drama Desk, Olivier Awards and the Pulitzer Prize in Music for the show’s lyrics. Kleban was a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Workshop for over 20 years.

A Chorus Line begins on a bare stage, where casting for a new Broadway musical is almost complete. The competition has been narrowed down to just 17 dancers. During the show we find out the dancers’ dreams and disappointments. By the show’s finale, the final chorus line of eight is chosen.

In 2001, a musical biography of Kleban, A Class Act, was produced on Broadway. The show features Kleban’s music and lyrics and has scenes set in the BMI Workshop. Mr. Kleban, who died in 1987 at the age of 48, posthumously won an Obie for his score for A Class Act, and was nominated for a Tony and a Drama Desk Award. Linda Kline, Kleban’s literary executor and a BMI Workshop member, is co-writer. The Kleban Foundation, created according to his will, awards grants to aspiring theatre lyricists and bookwriters so that they may carry on the tradition of the American musical theatre, which he loved so dearly.

Joel Siegel of ABC-TV wrote, “This proves you can be a singular sensation twice. The choreography, the staging, the set and the score are still magic. You’ll dance out humming the score. The music moved me to tears twice. And something I’ve never done, during the finale, I whispered wow under my breath.”

Jon Lahr in The New Yorker described A Chorus Line’s score “full of wit and fun. Edward Kleban’s shrewd lyrics sit easily on Marvin Hamlisch’s inspired score.”

Entertainment Weekly proclaimed, “This sensational revival blows the sequins off most Broadway musicals. It’s thrilling!”

Michael Sommers of the Star-Ledger wrote, “Welcome back, you beautiful thing! The show glows with dynamic and dazzling songs by composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Edward Kleban,” and Joe Dziemianowicz of the Daily News asserted, “There’s nothing better. The score sounds fantastic, too. As long as ‘A Chorus Line’ is kicking on Broadway, audiences have somewhere exciting to go.”

MARY POPPINS
Based on P.L. Travers’ cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins features the Sherman Brothers’ original Academy Award-winning songs, bringing to life the story of the Banks family and their magical nanny.

Mary Poppins marks the first collaboration between Disney, producer of the The Lion King (BMI’s Elton John and Tim Rice) and Beauty and the Beast (BMI’s Alan Menken) with Cameron Mackintosh, legendary producer of the record-breaking Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Les Miserables. The Cameron MackIntosh Foundation provides underwriting for the annual BMI Workshop Musical Theatre Showcase at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Mary Poppins, with classic songs by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, and new songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, opened Nov. 16, 2006, at the historic New Amsterdam Theatre in New York.

The Sherman Brothers are leading composer/lyricists in family entertainment. Among their many hits is the most translated and performed song on earth: “It’s a Small World (After All).” Robert Sherman endows the BMI Foundation’s Robert B. Sherman Scholarship, which is given annually to a college student who is a musical theatre composer/lyricist.

The Shermans’ career spans almost 50 years and includes two Academy Awards for Best Score and Best Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from Mary Poppins. Their other Broadway credits include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Over Here, which is being prepared for a lavish West End revival.

Additional songs are by composer/lyricists George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, Olivier Award winners for the musical Honk and founders of London’s Mercury Musicals.

Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press wrote, “All the big, classic Sherman Brothers songs are here, and new songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe fit seamlessly into the proceedings. In fact, one or two of them, including Mary’s opening number, ‘Practically Perfect,’ possess an instant hypnotic quality.”

Terry Teachout wrote in The Wall Street Journal, “I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t run for at least a century!”

SPRING AWAKENING
Based on the scandalous 1891 play about troubled teens, Spring Awakening opened off-Broadway last summer and opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Dec. 10, 2006. This ground-breaking show is by BMI writers Duncan Sheik (music) and Steven Sater (book and lyrics).

Christopher Isherwood of the The New York Times called Sheik and Sater’s score “ravishing” and declared that “Broadway would never be the same. The music, spare in its simple orchestrations, lush in the lapping reach of its seductive choruses, embodies the shadowy air of longing that infuses the show, the excitement shading into fear, the joy that comes with a chaser of despair. The singing throughout is impassioned and affecting, giving powerful voice to the blend of melancholy and hope in the songs.”

Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik’s self-titled debut album, both a popular and critical success, introduced the hit singles “Barely Breathing” and “She Runs Away,” and spent 30 weeks on the Billboard 200. Other albums include Humming, Daylight, Phantom Moon with lyrics by Steven Sater and his latest, White Limousine.

Sheik’s film soundtracks include Great Expectations, The Saint, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Three to Tango, What a Girl Wants, Transamerica and A Body Goes Down. Sheik and Sater recently wrote original songs for the feature film A Home at the End of the World. For the stage, their Nightingale workshopped both at the O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference and La Jolla Playhouse, and is announced for La Jolla’s 2007 season.

Sater’s plays include the long-running Carbondale Dreams, Perfect for You and Doll (Rosenthal Prize, Cincinnati Playhouse).

HIGH FIDELITY
The romantic musical comedy High Fidelity follows the adventures of Rob, a record store owner who knows almost everything about pop music, but almost nothing about how to hang on to a girlfriend. This new musical adaptation of Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel marks the first-time collaboration of fast-rising songwriters Tom Kitt and Amanda Green (daughter of actress Phyllis Newman and legendary Broadway lyricist Adolph Green) and book writer David Lindsay-Abaire (a Tony nominee last season for his play Rabbit Hole).

Kitt and Green first met and collaborated in 2006 in the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, and songs from High Fidelity have been featured in BMI Workshop showcases. Tom’s work has been heard in film (The Two Ninas), television (Dawson’s Creek), and original recordings (Julia Murney, The Tom Kitt Band). Amanda’s shows include Hallelujah Baby (Arena Stage 2004; additional lyrics) directed by Arthur Laurents, For The Love of Tiffany (NY Fringe Festival 2003) and Up the Week Without a Paddle (L.A. Drama Critics Circle nomination, Garland Award, Best Score).

Frank Rizzo in Variety wrote, “This is a musical that celebrates the power of pop culture with wit, verve and a killer beat. Nailing the music in all its varied forms is Tom Kitt’s tuneful score and the sharp, funny and telling lyrics of Amanda Green.”

Terry Teachout proclaimed Green “a master of the craft of packing everything you need to know about a character into a neatly wrapped, deftly rhymed package.”

The Philadelphia Enquirer calls the musical numbers the show’s “mother lode. Act II bubbles over with so many show-stealers that you begin to wonder whether it has anything left to plunder. Indeed, it keeps bringing out the treasure.”

And Entertainment Weekly declared that High Fidelity is “the unique show that charms both your college drinking buddy and your mother.”

THE APPLE TREE
A revival of The Apple Tree, which opened Dec. 14, 2006, at the Roundabout’s Studio 54 Theatre, features a score by BMI writers Jerry Bock (music) and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics). The original production, which opened at the Shubert Theatre in 1966, was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Bock and Harnick are the Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning writing team responsible for Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me, The Rothschilds and Fiorello.

The Apple Tree contains three short musicals, all pertaining to the subject of temptation. The first is based on Mark Twain’s interpretation of Adam and Eve, the second, Frank Stockton’s classic fable of The Lady or the Tiger, and the third, Passionella, Jules Pfeiffer’s delicious look at a chimney sweep who is transformed into a glamorous movie star.

Composer Jerry Bock personally selects and endows the BMI Foundation’s Jerry Bock Award, which is given bi-annually to a composer/lyricist team from the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.

Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote that The Apple Tree “is somewhere you should definitely spend time if you need reassurance that musicals can still float next door to heaven,” and praised Bock and Harnick’s “remarkably fresh comic and musical stylings, which speak slyly in an assortment of musical tongues.”

Terry Teachout declared, “musical comedy fans, rejoice!” and Broadway.com wrote, “With a lovely score and witty book by the legendary Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, ‘The Apple Tree’ is a must-see revival for lovers of musical theater.”

BMI Broadway blockbusters from earlier seasons include:

Avenue Q
2004 Best Musical and Best Score Tony Award by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who met and first wrote together in the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop; plays nightly at New York’s Golden Theatre and in London at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Beauty and the Beast
Now in its 12th year at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, has music by Alan Menken, who also honed his craft at BMI’s Musical Theatre Workshop; he is currently a member of the Workshop’s Steering Committee. Menken’s Sister Act is currently breaking box office records on its pre-Broadway tour, and his Little Mermaid is in preparation for Broadway next season.

Chicago
1997 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, by John Kander and Fred Ebb, celebrates its tenth year at the Ambassador Theatre. Kander and Ebb’s Curtains opens on Broadway March 22 at the Hirschfeld Theatre.

The Color Purple
2006 Tony nominee featuring a score by BMI writers Brenda Russell and Allee Willis plays at the Broadway Theatre.

Jersey Boys
With music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe, the 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Musical celebrates its 500th performance at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre.

The Lion King
Music by Sir Elton John (PRS) and lyrics by Tim Rice (PRS), winner of the 1998 Best Musical Tony, is in its ninth year at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre.

Mama Mia!
With songs by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, Mama Mia! has been playing at the Winter Garden Theatre since 2001.

Monty Python’s Spamalot
2005 Tony Award for Best Musical with book and lyrics by Eric Idle and music by Eric Idle and John Du Prez, directed by BMI writer Mike Nichols, continues its run at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre.

The Producers
Won an unprecedented 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score for Mel Brooks‘ music and lyrics, plays at the St. James Theatre.

Tarzan
With music and lyrics by Phil Collins, continues at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Tarzan, The Lion King, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast are all Disney Broadway productions.

With a total of 11 nominations that also includes Best Original Score for BMI songwriters Allee Willis and Brenda Russell, the Pulitzer-winning-novel-turned-Oscar-nominated-film-turned-Tony-nominated musical is produced by Oprah Winfrey.

Runaway hit Jersey Boys, about the lives and music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, nabbed eight Tony nominations, including Best Book of a Musical for BMI composer Marshall Brickman. A true crowd-pleaser, the show features the original music of Bob Gaudio, a founder and full-time member of the Four Seasons who wrote the music, and Bob Crewe, who wrote the lyrics and produced many of the group's records.

Also earning Tony nominations were BMI songwriters/actors Michael Cerveris and Harry Connick, Jr., who will compete in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor category for Sweeney Todd and The Pajama Game, respectively.

The 60th Annual Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 11 at Radio City Music Hall and will be broadcast live on CBS starting at 8 p.m.

Celebrating at the party are (l-r) BMI's Linda Livingston, BMI composers Allee Willis and Brenda Russell, "Purple" co-writer Stephen Bray, and BMI's Barbara Cane and Phil Graham. Photo by Randall Michelson

Three-time Grammy nominee Brenda Russell, co-writer of Sting's Grammy-winning song "She Walks This Earth," has been working on The Color Purple for the past five years while also focusing on her own writing and touring. She is currently preparing her next CD release and will embark on a South American tour this summer.

Allee Willis (along with Bruce Roberts) is currently working on the music for VH1's new series, So NoTORIous, starring Tori Spelling, and is also writing six songs for the new Earth, Wind & Fire Broadway musical, Hot Feet, opening April 30. Willis is about to become one of only five writers to have two shows open on Broadway in one season and the only writer to have two African-American related shows on Broadway at the same time.]]> 2006-04-04T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/334709 Artists, Bray, Stephen, Russell, Brenda, Color Purple, The, Willis, Allee, Musicworld, Hitmaker If you take the story of a woman who is a strong believer in hope and love, and through these beliefs receives the strength to overcome her fears and hardships, add just the right amount of music — blending gospel, jazz, ragtime and blues — you come out with a great musical.

And that musical is The Color Purple.

After reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, show producer Scott Sanders felt strongly that The Color Purple should be brought to life on stage. After working effortlessly for eight years and building creative and production teams, Sanders’ dream has become a reality.

Quincy Jones, producer of the film version of The Color Purple 20 years ago, and Oprah Winfrey, who was cast then by Jones to play Sophia, are both excited to add their names as producers. Both Jones and Winfrey share Sanders’ vision of The Color Purple as a musical celebration of life.

The show’s music and lyrics were written by BMI composers Brenda Russell and Allee Willis, along with Stephen Bray, a collaboration that brings together three creative minds to capture the very essence of what The Color Purple is all about — the story of hope and love — alive on Broadway.

Brenda Russell, a singer/songwriter whose lyrics are as smooth as her caramel voice, states that she “never writes songs that are without hope.” Grammy Award-winning songwriter Allee Willis’s talents go way beyond anyone’s imagination. “I’ve probably worked with a thousand people, and this is the best collaboration I’ve ever been involved in,” she says about working with Russell and Bray.

With the ingredients of a great story, compelling music by three amazing composers, and an incredible cast and production team, The Color Purple is destined to be one of the hottest tickets on Broadway.]]> 2006-03-09T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334652 Artists, Bray, Stephen, Russell, Brenda, Color Purple, The, Willis, Allee The Color Purple. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the Oscar-nominated film by Steven Spielberg, the show's music and lyrics are provided by Grammy Award-winning BMI composers Brenda Russell and Allee Willis (along with Stephen Bray), who bring a mix of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues to the stage.

BMI's Linda Livingston (center) congratulates The Color Purple composers Allee Willis and Brenda Russell backstage.

The Color Purple is an inspiring family saga that tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, through love, finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discovers her unique voice in the world. It's a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love and a celebration of life.]]> 2005-12-20T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/234287 Artists, Organic, Russell, Brenda, Willis, Allee, Musical Styles, Pop, Musicworld, Feature Allee Willis is a bona fide renaissance woman: not only a Grammy Award-winning songwriter who can boast more than 50,000,000 records sold — her catalogue includes “I’ll Be There For You” (the “Friends” theme), The Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance,” Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” and The Pet Shop Boys/Dusty Springfield’s “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” — but also a painter, animation auteur, creator of daring digital destinations, impresario of events, and, now, a Broadway composer and lyricist.

“Broadway is the last place I ever thought I’d find myself. It seemed like such an archaic form. I’m shocked to discover it’s the most spontaneous medium I’ve ever worked in; it’s live all the time so you could always be on the brink of disaster,” she says gleefully.

Willis is riffing on the musical incarnation of The Color Purple , based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Alice Walker (1983) and Oscar-nominated film by Steven Spielberg (1985), which she’s co-authoring with songwriters Brenda Russell and Stephen Bray, and Pulitzer Prize/Tony Award-winning book writer Marsha Norman.

Willis declares: “I’ve probably worked with 1,000 people, and this is the best collaboration I’ve ever been involved in.” She was initially the art director on the production but soon chose to join forces with Russell and Bray — with whom she was scoring two animated series she’d co-created, “Fat Girl” (Oxygen Network) and “Driving While Black” (urbanentertainment.com) — to write spec songs that would compete with the work of seven other creative teams.

The first was “Shug Avery Coming To Town,” which became the cornerstone of The Color Purple. “With the animation, we made sure each character had a particular rhythm and pace and style,” Willis explains. “For the show, we chose to musicalize a multi-character scene because we knew we could apply this and it would capture a variety of sounds and moods. It has Celie and Mr. in it, but also the townspeople, the church ladies — everyone has an opinion about Shug Avery coming to town.

“Once we nailed that song, the entire show started developing that way,” she continues. “Since we became involved so early, the show really formed around the music. I think that’s why, bar for bar, it’s one of the most hook-filled musicals ever written.”

She says of her collaborative method: “It’s been like family therapy! It’s a complete democracy. If two of us are passionate about a part, it stays. And we don’t do anything until we turn on the machines; we’re in recording mode from the second we start writing. That way we capture the lightning bolts, rather than refining the song so completely that we squeeze all the juice out of it. Then, as soon as something sounds good — whether it’s a beginning, ending, lyric, melody, string part — we start developing it. When we run out of ideas, we jump to another section, and eventually, it all comes together in a very organic way.”

Willis had not written a song since 1994 (the “Friends” theme). Her thrill in rediscovering the craft is palpable. “Someone recently put my album, Childstar , which was released in 1974, on CD for me,” she says. “It’s the first 10 songs I ever wrote and I hadn’t heard it since it came out. Unbelievably, what I’m writing today bears a striking resemblance to my earliest work. It’s because I’ve been left alone — with Brenda and Stephen — to do whatever I want. Working this way, you can indulge your every fantasy. No place is too extreme. If you feel it, you go there.”

The Color Purple premieres at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre in September. It will make its Broadway debut in 2005.

Shown after the performance are BMI's Linda Livingston and Frances Preston, composers Allee Willis and Brenda Russell, and BMI's Doreen Ringer Ross.

BMI last night honored the composers and songwriters of the music in the top-grossing films of the year and the top-rated prime-time network television shows at its annual Film & Television Awards dinner. Held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the black tie gala was hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston. More than 50 awards were given out during the ceremonies, including the prestigious Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement presented to composer W.G. "Snuffy" Walden.

One of the most successful contemporary TV composers today, Walden is responsible for the music for some of the most popular and critically acclaimed programs in TV history. From the acoustic guitars of thirtysomething and The Wonder Years, to the sweeping Americana theme of The West Wing to the raucous garage-band backdrop of The Drew Carey Show, Walden's creative musical vision has made him one of the industry's busiest composers.

The BMI Family photo of winners at the BMI Film and TV awards.

A former guitarist who toured with such acts as Chaka Khan, Eric Burdon and Donna Summer, his first TV show for which he created music was thirtysomething. Other credits include The Wonder Years, Ellen, Rosanne, Sisters, Early Edition, The Drew Carey Show, Once & Again, The West Wing, Norm, Providence, the Stephen King mini-series The Stand, Felicity and many others. Walden, previously nominated for eight Emmys, won for The West Wing in 2000. He also released his first guitar-based solo record for Windham Hill Records this year.

Trevor Rabin, Harry Gregson Williams, Ed Shearmur, Ray Yee

Thirtysomething and Once & Again Producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, The West Wing Creator/Executive Producer Aaron Sorkin and Executive Producer/Director Thomas Schlamme, and The Wonder Years Director Michael Dinner all honored Walden via videotaped messages at the dinner.

Calling him, "A very artistic soul whose sensibility was much closer to ours than any of us realized," Zwick said Walden was, "...as interested in talking about what the story was as much as what the music should be."

Herskovitz called Walden's theme for thirtysomething a part of the signature of the show, adding, "...that particular guitar sound was like a character in the show. It was very important to us and very recognizable and it wouldn't have worked if it wasn't so tied into what the dynamics of the drama were all about...Snuffy understood the irony of our generation and particularly of that show, and he found a musical expression for that."

Dinner described him as, "...really tuned into the drama. He's really sensitive with what you're trying to accomplish in the piece and has the big picture besides just the scene (in mind)."

Sorkin said, "Snuffy's music is as every bit as much of the show as the words, the performances, Tommy's direction...the music is very much an extension of Snuffy and he becomes very emotionally involved in the piece. He's happy when he can put a lump in your throat."

Schlamme concurred, saying, "...His music is an extension of himself, he gets incredibly emotionally involved in whatever it is he's doing. What he adds is his emotional life - it is actually part of this show - and we're very lucky to have that."

Other composers who received multiple Film Music Awards included Trevor Rabin for Gone In 60 Seconds and Remember The Titans and Edward Shearmur for Charlie's Angels and Miss Congeniality. Composer Lalo Schifrin received a special Film Music Award for his legendary theme "Mission: Impossible" that was used throughout Mission: Impossible 2. Other composers receiving awards included Harry Gregson Williams, Chicken Run; Michael Kamen, X-Men; David Newman, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps; Cliff Martinez, Traffic; Richard Marvin, U-571, Mark Mothersbaugh, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie; and Danny Elfman, The Family Man.

"Doesn't Really Matter" from Nutty Professor II: The Klumps was named The Most Performed Song From A Motion Picture. "Doesn't Really Matter" was written by Janet Jackson and published by Black Ice Publishing.

The composers of the top-rated network prime-time television shows were also feted. Amongst those receiving multiple Television Music Awards were Mike Post for NYPD Blue, Law and Order and Law & Order: SVU; Walden for The West Wing and The Drew Carey Show; and David Vanacore for Survivor and Temptation Island. Other composers receiving awards were Martin Davich, ER; Allee Willis, Friends; Darryl Phinnessee, Frasier; John M. Keane and Pete Townshend, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; and Steve Hampton and Korbin Kraus, Just Shoot Me.

BMI's Emmy Award winning composers were also honored, including Walden, The West Wing; John Kimbrough, Nickellennium; Paul S. Glass and Dominic Messinger, One Life To Live; Messinger for "When I Think Of You" from One Life To Live; and Richard Stone, Steve Bernstein and Julie Bernstein, Hysteria! In an emotional moment, Stone's children, Mike and Rick, accepted the late composer's award; Stone died of cancer earlier this year.

High-resolution photos of the 2001 BMI Film/TV Awards are available for downloading on the BMI Media Relations web site at press.bmi.com.

2001 BMI FILM & TELEVISION AWARDS

Richard Kirk Award
W.G. "Snuffy" Walden

BMI Film Music Awards

Michael Kamen
X-Men

David Kitay
Scary Movie

Ed Shearmur
Charlie's Angels Miss Congeniality

David Newman
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps

Richard Gibbs
Big Momma's House

Cliff Martinez
Traffic

Trevor Rabin
Remember The Titans
Gone In 60 Seconds

John Williams
The Patriot

Harry Gregson Williams
Chicken Run

Lalo Schifrin
Mission: Impossible 2

Lennie Niehaus
Space Cowboys

Richard Marvin
U-571

Mark Mothersbaugh
Rugrats In Paris: The Movie

Danny Elfman
The Family Man

BMI Most Performed Song from a Film

Janet Jackson
Black Ice Publishing
"Doesn't Really Matter" from Nutty Professor II: The Klumps

BMI TV Music Awards

Jeff Beal
Family Law

Kenneth Douglas Berry
Temptation Island

Martin Davich
ER

Kurt Farquhar
Josh Goldsmith
Andrew Gross
The King of Queens

Steve Hampton
Just Shoot Me

Tom Hiel
The Practice

John M. Keane
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Korbin Kraus
Just Shoot Me

James S. Levine
What About Joan

Marc Lichtman
Touched By An Angel

Darryl Phinnessee
Frasier

Mike Post
Law & Order
Law & Order: SVU
NYPD Blue

Edward Rogers
NYPD Blue

Peter Scaturro
The Practice

Barrett Strong
Family Law

Pete Townshend (PRS)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

David Vanacore
Survivor
Temptation Island

W.G. "Snuffy" Walden
The Drew Carey Show
The West Wing

Norman Whitfield
Family Law Allee Willis
Friends

Cathy Yuspa
The King of Queens

BMI Emmy Award Winners

W. G. "Snuffy" Walden
The West Wing

John Kimbrough
Nickellennium

Julie Bernstein
Steve Bernstein
Tim Kelly
Richard Stone
Hysteria!

Paul S. Glass
Dominic Messinger
One Life To Live

Dominic Messinger
"When I Think Of You" from One Life To Live

BMI last night honored the composers and songwriters of the music in the top-grossing films of the year and the top-rated prime-time network television shows at its annual Film & Television Awards dinner. Held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the black tie gala was hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston. More than 52 awards were given out during the ceremonies.

The highlight of the evening was the prestigious Richard Kirk Award, which was presented to composer Thomas Newman in recognition for Outstanding Career Achievement. Newman, a four time Oscar nominee and BAFTA award winner, has scored such films as The Shawshank Redemption, The Horse Whisperer, The Player, Little Women, Fried Green Tomatoes, American Beauty, The Green Mile, Phenomenon, American Buffalo, The People Vs Larry Flynt, Oscar and Lucinda, and many others. The youngest son of legendary composer Alfred Newman, Thomas studied composition and orchestration at USC, completing his academic work at Yale. He scored his first film, Reckless, at the age of 29, and his reputation for originality and for intensifying mood and character grew with his work on such films as Gung Ho, Scent Of A Woman, Citizen Cohn and many others.

Directors Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) and Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes, George of the Jungle) sent video messages congratulating him on his award. Darabont said, "Tom's music has added an enormous amount to both The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. He is a quote 'storyteller' and that's what he views his job as - which is wonderful. He manages to elicit an enormous amount of the emotional content of the film�without being obvious. He gives you something a little unexpected but yet you're in tears by the end of it. He's quite brilliant that way."

Avnet described Newman as, "Basically my voice on a certain level." Described as an open, collaborative and devoted composer who brings his small children to the conducting stand at times, Avnet said, "He creates a kind of visceral situation whereby you're able to experience the narrative - you won't see in Tom's music a lot of stings and hits and 'look at me.' Instead, you'll see a kind of airy weave that allows you to feel what's going on. He doesn't point, and that's part of what I like about his work. "

Composers receiving multiple Film Music Awards for their work included Newman for The Green Mile, American Beauty and Erin Brockovich; and Jerry Goldsmith for The Haunting and The Mummy.

BMI Composers who received Film Music Awards included John Williams for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace; George S. Clinton for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; David Arnold for The World Is Not Enough; Mark Mancina for Tarzan and Teddy Castellucci for Big DaddyM.

"Fortunate" from LIFE was named The Most Performed Song From A Motion Picture. "Fortunate" was written by R. Kelly and published by R. Kelly Publishing, Inc. and Zomba Songs, Inc

The composers of the top-rated network prime-time television shows were also feted. Amongst those receiving multiple Television Music Awards were W. G. "Snuffy" Walden for Providence, The West Wing and The Drew Carey Show; Bruce Miller for Frasier andBecker; and Mike Post for NYPD Blue and Law and Order. Composers receiving Television Music Awards included Ian Dye for NYPD Blue; Martin Davich for ER; Allee Willis for Friends; Marc Lichtman for Touched By An Angel; Darryl Phinnessee for Frasier, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Bennett Salvay for Providence; John Griffin for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire; John Flansburgh and John Linnell for Malcolm In The Middle; Dennis C. Brown forDharma & Greg; and Peter Scaturro for The Practice.

BMI's Emmy Award winning composers were also honored, including Richard Hartley, Alice In Wonderland; Martin Davich, Trinity; Carl Johnson, Invasion America - Final Mission; Julie Bernstein, Steve Bernstein, Tim Kelly and Richard Stone for Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs; Gary Kuo, AJ Gundell and Dominic Messinger for All My Children; and Laura Karpman for The Living Edens: Madagascar.

BMI, founded in 1940, is an American performing rights organization which represents more than 250,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. Through its music performance and reciprocal agreements, it grants businesses and media legal access to it repertoire of more than 4.5 million musical works from around the world.

Below is a complete listing of composers and songwriters who received awards at BMI's Film & Television Awards.

Richard Kirk Award

Thomas Newman

BMI Film Music Awards

David Arnold The World Is Not Enough

Teddy Castellucci Big Daddy

George S. Clinton Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Danny Elfman Sleepy Hollow

Jerry Goldsmith The Haunting, The Mummy

Richard Horowitz Any Given Sunday

Mark Mancina Tarzan

Thomas Newman American Beauty, Erin Brockovich, The Green Mile

John Williams Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace

Trevor Rabin Deep Blue Sea

Christopher Young Entrapment

BMI Most Performed Song from a Film

R. Kelly "Fortunate" from LIFE

R. Kelly Publishing, Inc. "Fortunate" from LIFE

Zomba Songs, Inc. "Fortunate" from LIFE

BMI TV Music Awards

Dennis C. Brown Dharma & Greg

Martin Davich ER

Ian Dye NYPD Blue

John Flansburgh Malcolm In The Middle

John Griffin Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Steve Hampton Stark Raving Mad

Mark Heyes Daddio

Corbin Krauss Stark Raving Mad

John Lennon Providence

Marc Lichtman Touched By An Angel

John Linnel Malcolm In The Middle

Paul McCartney Providence

Bruce Miller Becker

Frasier

Darryl Phinnessee Frasier

Mike Post Law and Order

NYPD Blue

Bennett Salvay Providence

Peter Scaturro The Practice

Barrett Strong Family Law

W.G. "Snuffy" Walden Providence

The Drew Carey Show

The West Wing

Allee Willis Friends

Norman Whitfield Family Law

BMI Emmy Award Winners

Martin Davich Trinity

Richard Hartley (PRS) Alice In Wonderland

Carl Johnson Invasion America � Final Mission

Julie Bernstein Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

Steve Bernstein Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

Tim Kelly Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

Richard Stone Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

A. J. Gundell All My Children

Gary Kuo All My Children

Dominic Messinger All My Children

Laura Karpman The Living Edens: Madagascar

John Williams

BMI Film Music Awards

David Arnold Godzilla

Chris Boardman Payback

Don Davis The Matrix

Randy Edelman Six Days, Seven Nights

George Fenton You’ve Got Mail

Richard Gibbs Dr. Doolittle

Jerry Goldsmith Mulan

Michael Kamen Lethal Weapon 4

Mark Mothersbaugh The Rugrats Movie

Thomas Newman The Horse Whisperer

Alan Pasqua The Waterboy

Trevor Rabin Armageddon

Enemy of the State

Lalo Schifrin Rush Hour

Stephen Warbeck Shakespeare In Love

Harry Gregson Williams Enemy of the State

Antz

John Williams Saving Private Ryan

Stepmom

BMI Most Performed Song from a Film

John Rzeznik “Iris” from City of Angels

EMI-Virgin Songs, Inc. “Iris” from City of Angels

Scrap Metal Music “Iris” from City of Angels

BMI Academy Award Winner

Nicola Piovani (SIAE) Life Is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella)

Stephen Warbeck (PRS) Shakespeare In Love

BMI Golden Globes Winner

David Foster “The Prayer” from Quest for Camelot

Tony Renis (SIAE)

Carole Bayer Sager

Alberto Testa (SIAE)

 BMI TV Music Awards

Dennis C. Brown Dharma & Greg

Marty Davich ER

Ian Dye NYPD Blue

Steve Hampton Just Shoot Me

Robert Israel 20/20

Kevin Kiner Walker, Texas Ranger

Korbin Kraus Just Shoot Me

John Lennon Providence

Marc Lichtman Touched By An Angel

Danny Lux Ally McBeal

Paul McCartney Providence

Bruce Miller Becker &  Frasier

Chuck Norris     Walker, Texas Ranger

Darryl Phinnessee    Frasier

Mike Post Law and Order & NYPD Blue

Bennett Salvay Providence

W.G. “Snuffy” Walden Providence , The Drew Carey Show & The Norm Show

Tirk Wilder Walker, Texas Ranger

Allee Willis Friends

BMI Emmy Award Winners

Christophe Beck Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Wes Boatman Guiding Light

Barry Devorzon Guiding Light

Richard Hazard Guiding Light

John Henry Guiding Light

Michael Licari Guiding Light

Brian D. Siewart Guiding Light

Julie Bernstein Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

Steve Bernstein Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

Richard Stone Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs

Richard Lewis Fame L.A.

Tom Snow Fame L.A.

Laura Karpman The Living Edens - Manu: Peru’s Hidden Rainforest

The Living Edens - Denali: Alaska’s Great Wilderness

The Living Edens - Patagonia: Life At The End Of The Earth