Jazz Orchestra to Present New Works at Annual Concert

Posted in News on July 4, 2001

The BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra, an adjunct of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, is a 16-piece modern repertory ensemble featuring leading New York musicians. The orchestra will premiere new works created in the Workshop on Thursday, July 19 at New York's Merkin Hall (Abraham Goodman House, 129 West 67th Street). Showtime is 8pm and the performance is free and open to the public.

The winner of the 2nd annual Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, sponsored by the BMI Foundation, will be announced during the concert. A cash award and commission are given annually to the writer of the best new work composed in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. The winning piece will be selected by a panel of jazz experts including Dan Morgenstern, writer/critic and Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University; WKCR-FM's Phil Schaap, New York radio's legendary voice of jazz; and Bill Kirchner, award-winning composer, educator and instrumentalist.

The BMI Jazz Composers Workshop is directed by noted jazz authority and author Burt Korall, with musical directors Manny Albam, Jim McNeely and Michael Abene. The Workshop offers an environment where composers have the freedom to fully explore the creative process, with a focus on innovative large ensemble compositions in a collaborative environment. The orchestra showcases these compositions regularly in concert and nightclub appearances.

SOURCENews TAGS Jazz Artists Bill Kirchner Jim McNeely Charlie Parker