Morton Gould was President of ASCAP and The ASCAP Foundation from 1986-1994. He was an eminent and versatile composer and the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. ASCAP honors Morton Gould's lifelong commitment to nurturing young creators by naming the annual Foundation Young Composer Awards in his memory. The winning composers share over $30,000 in ASCAP Foundation Awards, including the annual Leo Kaplan Award in memory of the distinguished jurist and music lover who served from 1967-1995 as ASCAP Special Distribution Advisor, and a grant from the Meyer Fund for our youngest creators from K-12th grade.

Deadline:

All materials must be postmarked no later than March 1st.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be citizens, permanent residents of the United States of America, or enrolled students with STUDENT VISAS who have not reached their 30th Birthday by March 1.

Previous ASCAP Foundation Award recipients must submit a composition written after the work which won the award. The submitted composition need not be written during the year of entry.

Original music of any style will be considered. However, works which have previously earned awards or prizes in any other national competition are ineligible. Arrangements are ineligible.

Application Procedures:

To be complete, each applicant must submit a completed application form; one reproduction of a manuscript or score; biographical information listing prior music studies, background and experience and a list of compositions to date. Completed materials must be postmarked no later than March 1 and should be sent to:

Frances Richard
The ASCAP Foundation / Morton Gould Young Composer Awards
One Lincoln Plazas
New York, NY 10023.

Submission of Compositions:

Only one composition per composer may be submitted.

The score reproduction submitted must be legible, must bear the applicant's name and may be submitted either on regular music paper or reproduced by an accepted reproduction process.

Only copies or reproductions should be submitted and the original of the composition should be held by the applicant.

A cassette tape or CD of the composition submitted for the competition may be included if it is marked with the composer's name, the title of the work and the names of the performers. Tapes of electronic music must also be accompanied by written information concerning source material and electronic equipment used.

A score containing a tape part should be accompanied, insofar as it is possible, by a cassette tape or CD of the complete work. A composition that involves a text must be accompanied by information about the source of the text with evidence that it is in the public domain or by written permission from the copyright proprietor.

All scores and tapes or CDs shall remain the property of the composers. So that music materials may be returned, each entry must be accompanied by a self-addressed LABEL with sufficient postage in a separate envelope.

Proper care will be taken to protect all music materials submitted, but each applicant releases all persons connected with The ASCAP Foundation (including the members of the Screening Panel and Selection Committee) from any claims resulting from possible loss and/or destruction of works/tapes/CDs/materials submitted.

Adjudication:

Preliminary screening and judging shall be by a Screening Panel of music authorities. The Selection Committee will later make awards to individuals from among those applicants chosen. The names of those serving on the Selection and Screening Committees will be made public on or before June 1, when the awards are announced.

Post-Award Reports:

As required by Federal law, a year after receipt of the award, each recipient will be required to report to The ASCAP Foundation on the use of the funds; progress made to improve skills; the recipient's accomplishments.

Any individual shall be eligible to receive an award except members or officers of The ASCAP Foundation, members of the Board of ASCAP, members of the Screening or Selection Committees, and members of the families of the foregoing.

Public announcement of The ASCAP Foundation Awards will be made on or before June 1.

The money for the award program comes from The ASCAP Foundation's Jack and Amy Norworth Memorial Fund.