January 06, 2011
ASCAP again honors SIUC's Frank Stemper
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Frank Stemper, professor and composer in residence at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, earned another award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers with an ASCAPlus Award.
The ASCAPlus Award is a cash award presented to writer members of any musical genre whose work merits prestige but falls into non-mainstream venues. Composers of experimental music, such as Stemper, often do not receive significant monetary compensation for their music. Though the ASCAPlus Award does not offer the same kind of purse a pop music hit generates, the awards are prestigious and the cash award is part of the recognition.
Stemper has more than two-dozen ASCAPlus Awards to his credit. Awards go to active composers chosen by a panel of music experts.
Stemper’s work is performed the world over. Most recently, his composition “A Brief Message from Makanda, Illinois,” for a mixed, unaccompanied choir, debuted in San Francisco. Another debut, for his composition, “by night my mind,” is set for New York City in March, with yet another premier of another work set for November 2011 at Stony Brook University in New York. This fall, Stemper will serve as composer in residence at the Fundación Valparaiso in Almeria, Spain.
For more information about Frank Stemper’s career, see http://frankstemper.com. For more information about the SIUC School of Music, see http://music.siuc.edu.