According to news breaking this week, "The ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams today announced the recipients of the 2026 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, which encourage talented young creators of concert music ranging in age from 13 to 30."
“It is such a joy to recognize these truly remarkable young composers,” said The ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams in a statement. “Their extraordinary talent, artistry and dedication to their craft speaks to a bright future for concert music. As their biggest fans, we are honored to celebrate and nurture their creativity.”
“Supporting emerging composers is at the heart of The ASCAP Foundation’s mission. We are proud to recognize these gifted creators at a pivotal moment in their artistic journeys, and thank our judges and funders for helping us champion these exceptional talents,” said The ASCAP Foundation Executive Director Patricia Leonard.
"Previous ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipients have gone on to receive major distinctions in their careers, including the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Music, Gabriela Lena Frank, and former Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Michael Abels, Jennifer Higdon, David Lang, Melinda Wagner and Julia Wolfe," a press release reveals. "The 2026 Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipients are listed below with their current residence and place of origin:
Zixuan Chen of Baltimore, MD (Hangzhou, China); Sophia Kunxu Dou of New York, NY (Beijing, China); Bobby Ge of Princeton, NJ (Atlanta, GA); Jacob Harrison of Los Angeles, CA (Clinton, IN); Oswald Huỳnh of Rome, Italy (Portland, OR); Maya Miro Johnson of New Haven, CT (Salt Lake City, UT); Kai Kubota-Enright of Brooklyn, NY(Vancouver, Canada); Jacky Jiaqi Liu of New York, NY (Beijing, China); Daniel Lubin of New York, NY; Matthew Huang Mailman of Evanston, IL (Hershey, PA); Aaron Nichols of New York, NY; Paul Novak of Chicago, IL (Reno, NV); Luca Pasquini of New York, NY (Denver, CO); Sofía Rocha of Providence, RI (Boulder, CO); Cyrano Jett Rosentrater of New York, NY (Philadelphia, PA); Dylan Tyree of Los Angeles, CA (Denver, CO); and Vincent Zhang of New York, NY (Vancouver, Canada)."
"The ASCAP Foundation's 2026 Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipients represent the artistic excellence that is shaping concert music, and affirms the vital role of emerging composers in defining the next era of our musical culture," Leonard told MC.
