January 28, 2002
Press Release
NEW YORK, January 28, 2002 - BMI has announced that Ralph N. Jackson has been elected President of the BMI Foundation, Inc. He succeeds Theodora Zavin, who has been named President Emeritus of the Foundation effective November 1, 2001. The BMI Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation founded by Zavin in 1985, is dedicated to encouraging the creation, performance and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants.
Jackson, who has served as a Director and Secretary of the Foundation since 1995, will head the Foundation while maintaining his current positions as BMI Assistant Vice President, Classical Music Relations and Director of the BMI Student Composer Awards.
“Ralph was a natural successor,” said BMI President and CEO Frances Preston. “His leadership and vision will be key to the continuation of the Foundation’s main objective: to foster the growth of young composers and ensure the continuation of the heritage of American musical ingenuity for generations to come.”
Jackson joined the BMI staff in 1980 and has contributed significantly to the growth of BMI’s classical music repertoire. After receiving a Bachelor of Music degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he served as the oboist for the Center for New Music at the University of Iowa. As a composer, he has received numerous awards and honors, including two BMI Student Composer Awards. In 1990, Stephen F. Austin State University named him “Most Outstanding Music Alumnus,” citing him for his “exemplary role in the support of American composers and contemporary music.” He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Music Center and the Charles Ives Society, as well as a member of the Advisory Board of the NARAS Foundation’s Grammy Signature Schools program. In demand as a lecturer, he has spoken about copyright and contemporary arts issues at such institutions as Yale University, Harvard University, the University of Southern California and the Juilliard School.
BMI also announced the election of the following Foundation Directors and Officers:
Robbin Ahrold (BMI Vice President, Corporate Relations) – Vice President
Gary F. Roth (BMI Assistant Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs) – Vice President
Jean Banks (BMI Senior Director, Musical Theatre & Jazz) – Secretary
Thomas Curry (BMI Vice President, Controller and Treasurer) – Treasurer
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Some of the Foundation’s projects include the John Lennon Scholarships, the Pete Carpenter Film Composing Internship, the BMI Student Composer Awards, the Jerry Bock Musical Theatre Award, the Carlos Surinach Fund Commissions, the Boudleaux Bryant Fund Commissions, the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, and the Lionel Newman Conducting Internship, to name a few.
Founded in 1940, BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. Through its music performance and reciprocal agreements with sister organizations around the world, it grants businesses and media access to its repertoire of approximately 4.5 million songs and compositions.
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Contact: Pat Baird
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