Daniel Szabo, adjunct associate professor in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, has just been awarded the ASCAP Foundation’s Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Commissioning Prize.
From the press release issued by the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra:
The ASCAP Foundation and the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra are pleased to announce Daniel Szabo as the recipient of the 4th Annual ASCAP Foundation/Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Commissioning Prize. This prize was created to honor the memory of the trailblazing musician George Duke, who was the SJO Co- Music Director and an ASCAP board member. The SJO Music Advisory Board was tasked with the job of screening the submissions from across the country, ranging from leading jazz veterans to promising young composers. This year’s winner, Daniel Szabo, will write a new symphonic work for the ensemble’s 2019-20 season.
Daniel Szabo is a performer-composer who has recorded and produced eight albums featuring his original work. He’s also worked on a great number of recordings as a collaborator with such artists as Patrick Williams, Bob Sheppard, Chris Potter, Jimmy Haslip, Kim Richmond, Kurt Rosenwinkel and John Zorn. He has toured worldwide and won multiple awards, including the Grand Prize of the City of Paris at the International Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition as well as the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Contest in Switzerland.
“I am extremely thrilled and honored to receive this prestigious award and very much looking forward to composing a new work for the SJO” – Daniel Szabo
The ASCAP Foundation/SJO Commissioning Prize is made possible in part by a grant from The ASCAP Foundation Louis Armstrong Fund and the SJO’s Commissioning Club. Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education, talent development and humanitarian programs.