On Wednesday morning, the ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams announced the recipients of the 2025 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, which "encourage talented young creators of concert music ranging in age from 13 to 30."
“These young composers embody the very best of the next generation in concert music,” said The ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams. “This recognition reflects their remarkable talent, vision and dedication to the craft. We look forward to seeing their musical storytelling flourish in the years ahead.”
“The ASCAP Foundation is committed to supporting emerging music creators through opportunities like this. We’re deeply grateful to the judges and funding partners whose support brings these programs to life,” said The ASCAP Foundation Executive Director Nicole George-Middleton.
According to a statement, "Previous ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipients have gone on to receive major distinctions in their careers, including Grammy-winning composer, pianist and singer-songwriter Emily Bear and Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Michael Abels, Jennifer Higdon, David Lang, Melinda Wagner and Julia Wolfe. The 2025 Morton Gould Young Composer Award recipients are listed below with their current residence and place of origin. Recipients under the age of 18 are listed by state of residence:
Corey Chang of Bloomington, IN (Woodbridge, CT); Kai Kubota-Enright of Los Angeles, CA, (British Columbia, Canada); GianCarlo Lay of Tempe, AZ (Dallas, TX); Grace Ann Lee of Ann Arbor, MI,(Seoul, South Korea); Emily Liushen of New York, NY, (Louisville, KY); Quinn Mason of Dallas TX; Paul Novak of Chicago, IL (Reno, NV); Nathaniel Parks of Baltimore, MD, (Greensboro, NC); Jaebong Rho of New Haven, CT, (Busan, South Korea); Cyrano Rosentrater of PA; Alex Tedrow of Washington, DC (Shoals, IN); Isaac Thomas of FL; Max Vinetz of Brooklyn, NY, (San Diego, CA); Brady Wolff of Bloomington, IN (Lee's Summit, MO); Yiqi Xue of New York, NY (Hangzhou, China); and Jihwan Yoon of Woodside, NY (Seoul, South Korea)."
"The following composers received Honorable Mention (recipients under the age of 18 are listed by state of residence): Jake Berran of Houston, TX (Minneapolis, MN); Avi Beskrowni of TX; Max Chung of Boston, MA; Elizabeth Gartman of New York, NY (Sheboygan, WI); Yingting Liu of Kansas City, MO (Hunan, China); Lila Meretzky of New York, NY and Phoebe Pylant of NC," they added.
"Max Vinetz was recognized by the panel with the 2025 Leo Kaplan Award, created in memory of the distinguished attorney who served as ASCAP Special Distribution Advisor. The award is funded by the Kaplan Family. Judges for The ASCAP Foundation 2025 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards were composers: Henry Dorn, Daniel Felsenfeld, Vivian Fung, Shawn Okpebholo, Robert Paterson and Ania Vu."
"The program grants cash prizes to concert music composers up to 30 years of age whose works are selected through a juried national competition," they continued. "It was established in 1979 as The ASCAP Foundation Young Composer Awards with funding from The ASCAP Foundation Jack and Amy Norworth Fund. Jack Norworth wrote such standards as 'Shine On Harvest Moon' and 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame.'"
"Additional funding is provided by The ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund and The ASCAP Foundation Joseph and Rosalie Meyer Fund. Irving Caesar was best known as the lyricist of 'Tea for Two' and “Swanee,” and Joseph Meyer composed the music for 'If You Knew Susie' along with several Broadway shows including Charlot’s Revue (1925), Ziegfeld Follies (1934) and New Faces (1936)."
"The annual ASCAP Foundation Young Composer program was dedicated to Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Morton Gould’s memory following his death in 1996 to honor his lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators. A child prodigy himself, Gould’s first composition was published by G. Schirmer when he was only six years of age. Gould served as President of ASCAP and The ASCAP Foundation from 1986 – 1994."
