BMI honored the composers and songwriters of the music from the past year's top-grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking cable television shows at its annual Film & Television Awards dinner on May 12. Held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the black-tie gala was hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston. Preston and Doreen Ringer Ross, BMI's Vice President of Film/TV Relations, gave out more than 100 awards during the ceremonies.

Click here for the 2004 BMI Film/TV Awards Song List

Click here for Film/TV awards event photos

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the BMI Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement to composer/artist Mark Mothersbaugh. Named after late BMI Vice President Richard Kirk, the prestigious award is given annually to the composer who has made significant contributions to film and TV music. Former recipients of the award include John Barry, Randy Edelman, Danny Elfman, Charlie Fox, Jerry Goldsmith, Earle Hagen, Michael Kamen, Alan Menken, Thomas Newman, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin, Alan Silvestri, Richard and Robert Sherman, W.G. "Snuffy" Walden, John Williams, Patrick Williams and Hans Zimmer.

Mark Mothersbaugh	Mike Post

One of the most unique and prolific contemporary composers in film, television, interactive media and commercials, Mothersbaugh was a founding member of influential rock group Devo, parlaying his avant-garde musical background into the world of scoring for filmed and animated entertainment. An artist both musically and in the literal definition, Mothersbaugh has created an aural framework with his scores for the forthcoming films Lords of Dogtown and The Life Aquatic, as well as having scored the hugely successful Rugrats television, stage and film franchise. He has also scored a diverse array of films and television shows, including Thirteen, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, 200 Cigarettes, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Happy Gilmore, The Mind of the Married Man, Power Puff Girls, Pee Wee's Playhouse, Beakman's World and more. With over 100 credits in the medium including over 400 commercial credits, Mothersbaugh is also co-owner of Mutato Muzika, an umbrella company that is home to a full-time staff of composers and music editors.

Korn

At the dinner, Mothersbaugh was honored by some of the directors he's worked with, as well as by the characters from Rugrats. Director Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic) called Mothersbaugh a "conceptual artist...his studio is kind of like Andy Warhol's factory. He's very versatile, his mind is constantly spinning and coming up with different things, and he's not locked into any one direction. He's more interested in trying everything."

"What Mark brings to my movies that's the most important to me has to do with the tone to them," said Anderson. "He's drawn to something - his sense of humor and a sort of wistfulness to him - that is the right kind of chemistry for my movies. It fixes the oddness of the movies and mixes into it something that has to be just right, and somehow he knows where that needs to fall."

Director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown) said she was a fan of Motherbaugh's work and wanted him to score her directorial debut Thirteen but was afraid he might not want to do the low-budget film. "I just tried to think of things that would get him excited about doing it," she said. Describing a scene in the movie that she thought would appeal to his creative side, she said she asked him, "Mark would you be interested in creating the sound of brain cells popping?"

Hardwicke went on to describe Mothersbaugh as, "Quirky, crazy, super imaginative, super creative...you don't know what the answer will be and that's the fun of it. He will surprise you with something you didn't plan on, or didn't anticipate. That's what I like, I want to be surprised," she said. "He wants to make it work and delight you too. He gets into a character's head and understands that words can be too heavy handed. I think his music helps carry us places and makes us feel things."

Other top winners at the BMI Film & Television Awards included legendary composer Mike Post, who received the most nods with three for Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: CI. Also feted were double winning composers Don Davis for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, David Newman for Daddy Day Care and The Cat In The Hat, Theodore Shapiro for Along Came Polly and Starsky & Hutch, Rolfe Kent for Freaky Friday and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Teddy Castellucci for Anger Management and 50 First Dates, Pete Townshend for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: Miami, and Rob Cairns for The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

BMI also honored the composers of the highest-ranking cable television shows of the year, including Butch Hartman and Guy Moon for Fairly Oddparents and Danny Phantom, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh for All Grown Up, Stewart Copeland for The Amanda Show, Douglas Cuomo for Sex and the City, and Brian S. Friedman and Rick A. Friedman II for Punk'd.

The Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture was awarded to the band Korn for their song "Did My Time" from Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. "Did My Time" was written by Jonathan Davis, David Silveria, Munky, Fieldy and Head, and published by Evileria Music, Fieldysnuttz Music, Gintoe Music, Musik Munk Publishing and Stratosphericyoness Music.

BMI's Emmy Award winning composers were also honored, including Jeff Beal for Monk, Christopher Cerf and Glen Daum for Sesame Street, Lenny Williams and Chris Biondo for National Geographic Explorer - "Hornets From Hell," A.J. Gundell, Jerry Pilato, Dominic Messinger, Gary Kuo and Kim Oler for All My Children, John Henry Kreitler for "Forever Near" from Passions, and David Foster and Linda Thompson for "Aren't They All Our Children" from The Concert For World Children's Day.]]> 2004-05-12T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234055 Artists, Cerf, Christopher, Gold, Julie Christopher Cerf and Julie Gold, served as master teachers of this innovative project. Cerf, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning composer of "Sesame Street" and producer/composer for "Between the Lions," and Gold, the Grammy Award-winning writer of "From A Distance," are among the most honored American songwriters. They worked with more than a dozen talented music teachers from the Tampa area.

The BMI Young Songwriters Project began in 2003 with the participation of students from the Hillsborough School District in Florida. In 2004, the membership was expanded to include individuals from the Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota School Districts. They met for five Master Classes via video conference from BMI's New York headquarters with Cerf and Gold. Each session involved the performance of songs by the students and critiques by the two teachers.

BMI helped to inaugurate the Young Songwriters Project as a means of encouraging the creators of tomorrow and teaching the value of copyright. Florida education innovators June Hinckley of the Florida Department of Education and Margaret Griffin, Elementary Music Supervisor for Hillsborough County, developed the curriculum with Cerf and Gold's assistance. The BMI Young Songwriters Project was also supported by the University of South Florida, the Florida Department of Education, Apple Computer Corporation and Sibelius Software. Apple will sponsor a reception following the concert, where both Cerf and Gold will be available for interviews on the project and their individual careers.]]> 2004-05-09T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234004 Artists, Cerf, Christopher, Kuo, Gary, Oler, Kim, Pelfrey, Danny, Musical Styles, Dance, Film-TV 31st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, announced March 4 by the National Television Academy live on NBC's The Today Show.

The awards recognize outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast during the 2003 calendar year. This year's ceremony will be broadcast live on NBC on Friday, May 21, from New York City's Radio City Music Hall from 9:00 - 11:00 p.m. (ET). The Creative Craft Daytime Emmy Awards, primarily for the creative arts categories, will be presented at ceremonies on Saturday, May 15, in New York at the Marriott Marquis Hotel and in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theatre Ballroom.

BMI's Daytime Emmy Nominees:

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC DIRECTION AND COMPOSITION

BETWEEN THE LIONS
Christopher Cardillo
Christopher Cerf
Sharon Lerner
Thomas Shepard

SESAME STREET
Glen Daum

STUART LITTLE
Kevin Kiner

THE WAYNE BRADY SHOW
Peter Michael Escovedo

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC DIRECTION AND COMPOSITION FOR A DRAMA SERIES

ALL MY CHILDREN
A.J. Gundell
Gary Kuo
Kim Oler
Jerry Pilato

GUIDING LIGHT
Billy Barber
Gary Deinstadt
Robert A. Israel
Birch Johnson
Ron Komie
Danny Pelfrey
Brian D. Siewert

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Paul S. Glass
Brian Lydell
Dominic Messenger
Bette Sussman

PASSIONS
Wesley B. Boatman
John Henry Kreitler
Ed O�Donnell

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG

ALL MY CHILDREN
�Dance Again With You�
Jorge Casas
Clay Ostwald

ALL MY CHILDREN
�Tad the Cad�
A.J. Gundell

GUIDING LIGHT
�Fasten Your Seatbelts�
Vivian Rhodes

ONE LIFE TO LIVE
�Flash of Light�
Paul S. Glass
Frank Valentini

PASSIONS
�I Ain�t Sorry�
John Henry Kreitler

PASSIONS
�Last Piece of My Heart�
John Henry Kreitler
Michael Sechrest

PASSIONS
�Momma, Gotta Let Her Go�
John Henry Kreitler

PASSIONS
�Something About Him�
John Henry Kreitler]]> 2004-03-16T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234001 Artists, Cerf, Christopher, Musical Styles, Dance, Film-TV Christopher Cerf was honored with the prestigious FAME Award by MENC: The National Association for Music Education on March 4 at the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. Cerf was recognized for outstanding contributions to music education by the organization's Chairman Dr. Willie Hill and its Executive Director Dr. John Mahlmann.

BMI composer Chris Cerf (center) is congratulated by MENC Chairman Dr. Willy Hill and BMI's Robbin Ahrold. Photo by Robert N. Blanken, CPP, Cr.Photog.

"We all know that music education is essential for all our children. We know that it helps kids become literate participants in our culture," said Dr. Mahlmann. "Through the FAME awards, we recognize the best of those who support teachers' efforts to bring music to our nation's students - individuals like Chris Cerf."

Cerf has played a pivotal role in the creation and production of the Sesame Street television program, most notably as a regular contributor of lyrics and music. He currently serves as Creative Director and Music Director of Between The Lions, the highly acclaimed children's literacy series on PBS. That program has already amassed six Emmy Awards in its three seasons on the air and last week was nominated for seven more Emmys. Cerf is also the recipient of two Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards for his work with Sesame Street.

In making the presentation to Cerf, BMI's Corporate Relations Vice President Robbin Ahrold said, "It's fair to say that in the world of television, no one working today creates music to teach literacy to better effect than Chris Cerf."

Cerf received a musical salute from Sesame Street's Grover and Between The Lions' Cleo, who performed several of his award-winning compositions.

BMI was the founding sponsor of the FAME Awards, which annually acknowledge educators for accomplishments in groundbreaking programs, as well as public figures for their support of music and the arts. Past honorees include members of the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle who have fought to maintain and expand support for music education.

MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the world's largest arts education organization, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. More than 100,000 members represent all levels of teaching from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC's activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education.]]> 2004-03-11T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233800 Artists, Cerf, Christopher, Gold, Julie, Sanjek, David, Musical Styles, Children's Music

Christopher Cerf and Julie Gold with some of the students who participated in the distance learning program

In collaboration with the United States Department of Education, the Arts in Education Grants, the Florida Department of Education and Apple Computer Corporation, BMI facilitated just such a distance learning experience for a group of budding songwriters from Hillsborough Country, Florida Public Schools. The project was brought to fruition through a link established between BMI's video conferencing center in New York City and a specially configured video classroom at the University of South Florida.

Videoconferencing allowed students and teachers to talk despite being thousands of miles apart

As teachers, BMI sought the assistance of two of its leading songwriters: Julie Gold, the Grammy Award-winning writer of "From A Distance," and Christopher Cerf, the Emmy award-winning composer of "Sesame Street" and producer/composer for "Between the Lions."

Julie Gold and Christopher Cerf

The Master Teachers met with the student songwriters on four occasions throughout the spring using the BMI video conferencing facility. They each spoke about their techniques for songwriting and performed works of theirs that would illustrate principles of the craft. Through the generous support of the Yamaha Corporation, both groups worked on Yamaha PSR 550 keyboards in the preparation of their material.

Julie and Chris gave assignments to the students, one of which was to write a song based upon a favorite book and the other was to create a song of the student's choosing. The contrast of the two assignments was a means of illustrating how some songs are, in effect, written to order while others arise out of the inspiration of the moment. The students created their material in collaboration with their music teachers. Downloaded copies of the songs were sent to Julie and Chris, who critiqued them after the students had spoken about their experience of creating the materials.

During the final class, Chris and Julie discussed with the students which of their songs was the best for final revisions and performance. They also made suggestions for possible arrangements of the material that could make for the best possible public performance. The students then gave a recital of their works - a total of 16 songs that included solo pieces while others were group projects. The reception by the audience was enthusiastic, and plans are in process for the project to be repeated in the future.

This innovative and creative project was directed by Robbin Ahrold, BMI's Vice President of Corporate Relations, assisted by Dr. David Sanjek, Director of the BMI Archives. Special thanks to Margaret Griffin, Supervisor of Elementary Music Education, June Hinckley, Program Specialist for the Florida Department of Education, and Lynne Reniak, who provided USF's indispensable technical assistance.

That's when you need to turn to people like Christopher Cerf and the musical team at Between the Lions. They're composers and producers of kid-friendly music that adults dig, too, as can be heard in the new series seen daily on 300 PBS stations nationwide. Aimed at Sesame Street "graduates" who know their alphabet and seek to conquer the basics of reading, the series, now in its second season, is a hit with both kids and critics. The show's been endorsed by the National Education Association, won a TV Critics Award, and recently received three Emmy awards (out of seven nominations) for outstanding children's programming. Books and toys featuring the series' characters are available, and an album of music from the show is being planned. And here in cyberspace, an action-packed web site from WGBH, the show's co-producers, is filled with educational games and downloadable music videos (www.pbs.org/lions).

As described by Cerf, who spent years developing the series with his partners at Sirious Thinking Ltd., it's a concerted - and concerned - effort to create material that adults can enjoy with their kids for greater learning potential. The BTL team, he says, "involves really top talent, people who could write for adults or kids but have a kids point of view, and love - love! - being silly and writing good music."

Among the contributors to the musical mayhem are Sarah Durkee (she's written for the l National Lampoon and Roger Daltrey) and Paul Jacobs (whose credits range from Meat Loaf's touring band to the Van Cliburn competition), both of whom, with Cerf, created classic kid tunes for Sesame Street. Also on board is Thomas Z. Shepard, multiple Grammy Award-winning producer of original Broadway cast albums, classical works, and the very first Sesame Street album, in 1970.

As Shepard relates, it's especially gratifying to be composing for this new educational project. "As much as I love producing - and I do love it - generally it's polishing and refining the creative efforts of someone else. And it's very refreshing at this age and stage to be polishing and refining my own creative work." Now, he's the man behind "Monkey Pop-Up Theatre," songs and scenarios written around specific phonic sounds, to great comic effect.

If the visuals sometimes grab the viewers' attention, anyone who listens closely to the songs will quickly realize just how much care and expertise goes into them. "What amazes me about some of the music," Cerf asserts, "is that the musicians on it are absolutely world-class musicians and singers who are very well known in the industry, so that makes it lots more fun for us, too."

As an example, he cites the gospel-style group Martha Reader and The Vowelles who, true to their name, can only sing vowel sounds. "The women who sing the Vowelles's songs have sung with Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez and Whitney Houston," Cerf says. "They're able to sing anything really well - and so the music comes out really authentic."

In the course of watching Between the Lions you might hear a Motown-styled song called "Double-O, Oo" ("If you learn the title of that song," Cerf explains, "you've learned the phonic lesson"), a blues tune from B.B. The King of Beasts, or c&w diva Tammy Lionette going over the top with grief about how some letters don't sound like their name. "That's where parody works for adults and, at the kids level, it's just silliness," Cerf explains. "She's singing about the W sound but it's like the end of the world. And that's a good joke."

For the generation raised on Sesame Street, the Beatles and Doctors Seuss and Spock, the importance of sharing music, humor and warmth with their kids is not taken lightly. The musical team at Between the Lions makes that magic happen on a daily basis - a pretty neat job, Cerf agrees. "It's hard work," he admits, "but we're having an incredibly good time. Any complaints are not accepted."