The enduring legacy of one of America’s most decorated composers has been the basis for launching the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards, aimed at recognizing and enabling the next generation of music composition talent. It was shortly after graduating from Queens College—a founding partner of the awards—in 1967, that Hamlisch produced his first of more than 40 motion picture musical scores.
Following its tremendous success in 2019, the 2020-2021 Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards expanded the competition categories to enable musicians to apply in the following musical genres: Composition for Musical Theatre, Film/Media Scoring, Classical Composition and Jazz Composition. Composers worldwide will be eligible to compete in categories for Youth (under 18) and Emerging Composers (pre-professional composers aged 18+) for sponsored in-kind and cash prize packages.
Composers from around the world were eligible and encouraged to compete, by registering online. “We are so grateful and humbled by the immense, diverse and extremely successful participation of composers in all music genres worldwide,” said Betsy Walters and Peter H. Gistelinck, Co-Founding Board members of the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards. “We are so thankful to all of our celebrity presenters for their unconditional support and are thrilled that, especially in these challenging times, they were able to make a difference in memory of the legendary Marvin Hamlisch.”
“I speak for everyone at Queens College when we say we are so proud that Marvin Hamlisch is an alumnus of Queens College,” said Queens College President Frank H. Wu. “Nearly nine years after his passing, Hamlisch continues to impact the lives of so many through his work. We are honored to partner with the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards for this incredible event. Although this year’s celebration looked much different as it was presented virtually, it was for sure an exciting evening filled with memorable appearances and wonderful music.”
A portion of proceeds from event sponsorships supports the Marvin Hamlisch Scholarship Endowment at Queens College. Established in 1984, it is a merit- and financial need-based scholarship awarded to a graduate music student.
The celebrity presenters for the 2020-2021 Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards announced the nominees as well as the ultimate winner in each of the following categories during a live-streamed event earlier this week:
FILM/MEDIA SCORING (EMERGING DIVISION) Presented by BARBRA STREISAND
Nominees: Matthieu Lechowski, France (WINNER); Ádám Lipták, Austria; Alvaro Camara Lopez, Spain; Théo Schmitt, United States; Seth Stone, United States
CLASSICAL COMPOSITION (EMERGING DIVISION) Presented by SIR HOWARD STRINGER
Nominees: Lise Borel, France; Daniel Grotino, France (WINNER); Alla Lowery, United States; Maksim Markov and Igor Sviridov, Russian Federation; Felipe Portinho, Brasil
JAZZ COMPOSITION (EMERGING DIVISION) Presented by QUINCY JONES
Nominees: Tomer George Cohen, Israel; Claire Cope, United Kingdom; Edgar Ibarra, Mexico; Patrick Lui, Hong Kong (WINNER); Luca Poletti, Italy
MUSICAL THEATRE COMPOSITION (EMERGING DIVISION) Presented by IDINA MENZEL
Nominees: Josh Ben-Ami and James Salem, United States; Austin Gatus, United States (WINNER); Charlie Romano and Will Wegner, United States; Caitlin Thomas, United States; Joshua Vranas, Brooklyn, United States
FILM/MEDIA SCORING (YOUTH DIVISION) Presented by MELISSA MANCHESTER
Nominees: Thomas Boulousis, Greece; Matthew Caren, United States (WINNER); Isabella Dussias, United States; Ethan Lieber, United Kingdom; Sydney Wang, United States
CLASSICAL COMPOSITION (YOUTH DIVISION) Presented by MARIA FRIEDMAN
Nominees: Matthew Caren, United States; Isabelle Kramar, United States; Luca Pasquini, United States (WINNER); Nathan Rihani, United States; Noah Tan, United States
JAZZ COMPOSITION (YOUTH DIVISION) Presented by JOHNNY MATHIS
Nominee: Will Everitt, United Kingdom (WINNER)
MUSICAL THEATRE COMPOSITION (YOUTH DIVISION) Presented by LUCIE ARNAZ
Nominees: Isabella Dussias, United States (WINNER); Danielle Wu, United States
ALLIANCE FOR WOMEN FILM COMPOSERS PRIZE Presented by STARR PARODI
Phoebe Greenland, England (WINNER)
The actual 2020-2021 MHIMA Ceremony can still be viewed at www.hamlischawards.tv.
The International Distinguished Members of the Jury who selected the ultimate winners in each category were David Berkman, Daniel Capelletti, Dan Carlin, Richard Danielpour, Todd Ellison, Raul Esparza, Maria Friedman, John Frizzell, Bill Gaden, Sheldon Harnick (Honorary), Antonio Hart, Sean jones, John Koutselinis, Steven Lankenau, Dr. Patricio Molina, Starr Parodi, Dr. Ronald Sadoff, Paul Shaffer, John Simpkins and Julius Tolentino.
The Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards has as its mission to champion the musical talent of youth and emerging composers from around the world. The awards have been created to honor the late Marvin Hamlisch, paying tribute to his remarkable legacy as both an artist of incomparable accomplishment, as well as an advocate for emerging talent. Mr. Hamlisch was one of only two people (along with fellow American composer Richard Rodgers) to have won an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Oscar and Tony Award, in addition to the Pulitzer Prize, for his ground-breaking musical, “A Chorus Line.”
The Marvin Hamlisch international Music Awards is grateful for the support of its founding partners: Queens College, Concord, Caroline’s Cakes, the Aegon/ Transamerica Foundation, ASCAP, Hal Leonard, Orange Tree Samples, MOTU, Embertone and Score a Score. Their generous contributions help expand the impact of the Marvin Hamlisch Scholarship fund at Queens College for many years to come.
