Francisco J. Núñez Receives the Victor Herbert Award

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ASCAP’S 10th Annual Concert Music Awards

Francisco J. Núñez, founder and artistic director of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, was presented with ASCAP’s Victor Herbert Award on May 21 for his “commitment to music education, to the enrichment of the choral repertory, and his dedication to musical excellence.“ The award was presented by composer Michael Gordon at ASCAP’s 10th annual Concert Music Awards event hosted by Peter Schickele at The Times Center. The awards recognize the achievements of ASCAP’s 2009 Concert Music Honorees who “represent the diverse aesthetic spectrum of the concert music world.”

The other 2009 ASCAP award recipients are composer and educator Jason Beeson, So Percussion, and Kristin Lancino, vice president of G. Schirmer, Inc. Also announced were the recipients of he 2009 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, as well as grants from The ASCAP Foundation Jack Amy Norworth and Morton Gould Funds. The 2009 ASCAP composer/judges were: Samuel Adler, Eve Beglarian, Steven Burke, Daniel Felsenfeld, Charles Fussell, Michael Gordon and Melinda Wagner.

Among the evening’s presenters were Derek Bermel, Steven Burke, John Corigliano, Stephen Paulus, Peter Schickele, Suzanne Vega, and ASCAP's John A. LoFrumento, Frances Richard, Cia Toscanini and Michael Spudic.

Born in New York City of Dominican descent, Francisco J. Núñez is a composer, conductor, a leading figure in music education, and a visionary, whose strongly held ideas have resulted in the critical and popular success of the award-winning Young People’s Chorus of New York City™ (YPC), a chorus of more than 1,100 young people ages 7 through 18 of all ethnic, economic and religious backgrounds, which he founded in 1988. As a result, Mr. Núñez was invited to give a keynote speech on the development of multicultural urban choirs at the national conference of Chorus America in Washington, D. C. in 2006, and he is frequently called upon by choirs throughout the country for help in replicating the YPC success. Mr. Núñez also leads the University Glee Club of New York, the New York University Singers and NYU Women’s Chorus and is often invited as a guest conductor and master teacher for choral workshops, demonstrations, all-states and festivals nationwide. Mr. Núñez is responsible for expanding the repertoire of choral compositions through the Transient Glory® series of concerts, CDs, and publications, which are published by Boosey & Hawkes — where Mr. Núñez is an editor — in association with G. Schirmer and Chester Novello. For his exemplary work with children, Mr. Núñez has been presented with numerous awards, such as the Child Champion award from Child magazine, a Liberty Ambassador medal from the New York Post, a Luminary Award from Casita Maria, and the New York Choral Society’s Choral Excellence award. He has also been honored as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine, a “man of achievement” by Hispanic magazine, and selected for GMC’s advertising campaign as an unsung Hispanic hero doing great work in the community.

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