Donato Poveda (right) and Randy Singer (left)

The evening featured acoustic performances by award-winning songwriters including Sergio George, Donato Poveda, Randy Barlow, Nicolas Tovar, Juan Carlos Perez-Soto, Joel Someillan, Archie Pena, Jean Rodriguez and Alih Jey. The songwriters also discussed how they wrote some of their most successful and meaningful songs and the music business behind their hits.

Also performing were rising singer/songwriters Jacob Jeffries, Vic Kingsley, Manolo Alayeto and Ricky Melendez.

(left to right) Claribel Cuevas (Creative Director, Sony/ATV Music Publishing); songwriter Donato Poveda, songwriter Jacob Jeffries, songwriters Claudia Sarmiento and Martika Chavarria from the duo Tronica; BMI’s Jake Cavazos, songwriter Alih Jey, and songwriter Alicastro

(left to right ) BMI’s Jake Cavazos; songwriters Sergio George and Jean Rodriguez

(left to right) Songwriters Sergio George, Jorge Luis Piloto, Aimee Nuviola and Luis Enrique

(l to r) songwriters Randy Barlow, Elsten Torres and Nicolas Tovar

BMI’s Jake Cavazos (center) and some of BMI’s talented writers

Vic Kingsley performing during the “Hitmakers of Tomorrow” segment

Enjoy acoustic performances by award-winning songwriters including Sergio George, Donato Poveda, Randy Barlow, Nicolas Tovar, Juan Carlos Perez-Soto, Joel Someillan, Archie Pena, Jean Rodriguez, Alih Jey and more. Hear the stories of how they wrote their songs and the music business behind their hits.

Additional performances by BMI Hitmakers of Tomorrow - Jacob Jeffries, Vic Kingsley, Manolo Alayeto, Sito, and Ricky Melendez.

Time: 8:30 p.m. Space is limited. RSVP or for more information, contact Jake Cavazos @ jcavazos@bmi.com.

Skeletons members (l-r): Liam Creamer (singer), Ceejay Sheppherd (guitar), Mathew Westley (bass), BMI’s Tabitha Capaldi, Matt Jones (keyboards), Ryan Jenkinson (drummer)

The panel comprised Hiten Bharadi, founder of new publishing, production and artist development company Phrased Differently; singer/songwriter Matt Hales of Aqualung; Justin Kalifowitz of Downtown Publishing, an independent music publisher; Sam Winwood, VP Creative of Kobalt Publishing; and Andy Hind, Senior Licensing Manager of MCPS.

Casiokids members (l-r): Kjetil AabÖ (bass), Matias Monsen (keyboards), Omar Johnsen (guitar/percussion), Helena Odegassd(visuals), Ingrid Ellestad (visuals), Jean Christine Cena (visuals), Fredrik Vogsborg (drummer), Ketil Kinden (vocals/keyboards), and Einar Olsson (percussion/keyboards)

Forming part of the “Alternative Escape,” the festival’s fringe circuit, BMI Sessions Rock Brighton was held at PoNana’s on May 15. The diverse line-up consisted of melodic rock band Cine; retro guitar-pop mavens The Ashbies; explosive performers the Skeletons; and Norwegian-bred Casiokids.

The Ashbies members (l-r): Will Taylor (vocals/guitar), Jon Supran (drummer), BMI’s Tabitha Capaldi, Brendon Ashbie (bass),and Charlie Fitzgerald (vocals/guitar)

BMI’s final offering at the festival was the Acoustic Afternoon Session, held May 16 at Above Audio, which featured a selection of highly sought-after acts. Sassy Londoner Rosie Oddie performed a special unplugged set with one member of her backing band, The Odd Squad; James McMorrow played a mesmerizing set coupled with his soulful-yet-raw vocals; and Tubelord showed their softer side with acoustic versions of their riotous tracks. Acoustic alchemist Yoav wowed the crowd with looping live rhythms and percussive beats, while headliner Parisian chanteuse Soko, one of the most exciting acts to break this year, brought together her charming and witty narratives with hushed acoustic strumming.

Ciné members (l-r): James McMaster (guitar), Alex Walker (drummer), Paul Aiden (vocals/guitar), Anthony Bruce , David Hempsted (bass), and BMI’s Tabitha Capaldi

Ciné (l-r): Paul Aiden, David Hempsted

The Ashbies (l-r): Will Taylor, Charlie Fitzgerald, and Brendon Ashbie

Skeletons (l-r)Liam Creamer, and Mathew Westley

Casiokids (l-r): Einar Olsson, Omar Johnsen, Matia Monsen, and Kjetil AabÖ

Photos: James Sellar

BMI honored the composers of music featured in the past year's top-grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking cable network programs May 21 at its annual Film & Television Awards. Held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the black-tie gala was hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Film/TV Relations Vice President Doreen Ringer Ross, who handed out more than 80 BMI Crystals throughout the evening.

View Full List of Award Winners

A highlight of the ceremony took the form of the Richard Kirk Award presentation to esteemed composer Christopher Young. Named after late BMI Vice President Richard Kirk, the prestigious award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. As the 2008 honoree, Christopher Young joins an elite list of peers that includes George S. Clinton, Harry Gregson-Williams (PRS), Jerry Goldsmith, Thomas Newman, Michael Kamen, Mark Mothersbaugh, Danny Elfman, Alan Menken, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin and John Williams.

Award-winning composer Christopher Young has carved out an enviable niche in the upper pantheon of Hollywood composers. The UCLA Film School alumnus first turned heads with fiendish scores for horror and science fiction projects, and he proceeded to garner accolades for work on macabre and fantastical films including Hellraiser, its Saturn award-winning sequel and Species, along with BMI award-winners Ghost Rider, The Grudge and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Young became a master of suspense, composing music for thrillers including Copycat and BMI honoree Entrapment, as well as dramatic and critical tours-de-force including Golden Globe nominee The Shipping News, Wonder Boys, Rounders and BMI award-winner Swordfish. He also fleshed out the haunting nuances and electrifying action sequences of box office gold Spiderman 3. The New Jersey native has also excelled in television composition, earning two Emmy nominations for telefilms Last Flight Out and Norma Jean & Marilyn. A dedicated mentor, Young has taught classes at USC, served as an advisor for the Sundance Institute's Film Composers Lab and created an innovative residential development to house aspiring composers in Los Angeles.

BMI also presented the Classic Contribution Award to Peter Golub in recognition of his progressive direction of the Sundance Institute's Film Composers Lab for the past ten years. An accomplished composer of film, theatre, ballet and concert works, Golub is a natural fit for the lab, which aims to enhance the role of music in independent film. His acute composition work includes scores for documentaries I.O.U.S.A. and Wordplay, along with films including The Great Debaters. Universally acknowledged as an unparalleled apprenticeship for the next generation of composing elite, the workshop has invaluably benefited from Golub's creative intuition and steady guidance.

BMI's Emmy-winning composers were also feted; the accomplished list included George Fenton (PRS) for the awe-inspiring documentary Planet Earth: Pole to Pole; William Ross for the 79th Annual Academy Awards; Lenny Williams for Nature: Christmas in Yellowstone; Yoav Goren for The XX Olympic Winter Games: The Stories of Torino; Katreese Barnes for Saturday Night Live's "Dick in a Box"; Gary Deinstadt, Billy Barber, Ron Komie, Danny Pelfrey and David Traugh for Guiding Light; along with Wes Boatman and John Henry Kreitler for "Love is Ecstasy" from Passions.

Legendary rocker turned lauded composer Pete Townshend (PRS) took home the evening's most awards, with three BMI Crystals for CSI, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. Composers garnering two awards each were Steve Jablonsky for Transformers and Desperate Housewives; Rupert Gregson-Williams (PRS) for Bee Movie and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry; George Fenton for Fool's Gold and Planet Earth: Pole to Pole; Mychael Danna for Surf's Up and Medium; Aaron Zigman for Step Up 2: The Streets and Why Did I Get Married?; Kevin Kiner for Amazing Race and CSI: Miami; Mike Post for Law & Order and Law & Order SVU; and Matt Koskenmaki for Hell's Kitchen and The Ultimate Fighter.

The night's winning composers for top-grossing films and critically acclaimed gems also included past Richard Kirk Award recipient Harry Gregson-Williams (PRS) for Shrek the Third, Trevor Rabin for National Treasure: Book of Secrets, legendary composer and past Richard Kirk Award recipient Lalo Schifrin for Rush Hour 3, John Ottman for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Mark Mancina for television drama Criminal Minds, Randy Edelman for romantic comedy 27 Dresses, Tyler Bates for horror favorite Halloween and pop music architect Brian Wilson for HBO dramedy series Big Love.

As a songwriter, Shakira forges her quirky, poetic lyrics into hook-driven Latin anthems. A canny pop sensibility is underscored by hypnotic Middle Eastern rhythms with ancestral roots; legend has it that she first heard the doumbek — a drum that accompanies belly dancing — at her Lebanese father’s favorite restaurant. While these rhythms allegedly inspired her to gyrate on the table to instant acclaim, the nuns at her parochial school were less enthralled with her talents, denying her a spot in the choir because of an insistent vibrato that they declared made her “sing like a goat.”

Fortunately, the professional music industry was more impressed, but initially the record buying public was unmoved. Shakira’s 1991 debut, released when she was only 15 (she had written her first song at age eight), garnered a less-than-stellar response. When the follow-up didn’t fare much better, Shakira returned to finish high school. But eventually experience and tenacity paid off: Powered by “Estoy Aquí”, “¿Dónde Estás Corazón?”, and the song that defined the title, “Pies Descalzos, Sueños Blancos,” her third studio release, Pies Descalzos, caught fire, selling over five million copies, while a remix album, titled simply The Remixes, moved an additional million copies. Her fourth album, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?, produced by Miami mastermind Emilio Estefan, solidified her position as a preeminent Latin artist.

In 2001, Shakira designed the blueprints for her crossover. Collaborating with Gloria Estefan, she wrote and recorded English versions of the tracks from ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? and penned new material for the album, titled Laundry Service. Although created for the English-language market, the rock and Spanish dance-influenced album also featured four Spanish songs, including “Que Me Quedes Tú” (That I Have Left You). Laundry Service cleaned up, with more than 13 million sales worldwide, a massive worldwide hit, “Whenever, Wherever,” and singles “Underneath Your Clothes,” “Te Dejo Madrid” (I Leave You Madrid), “Objection (Tango)” and “The One.” The album and its singles substantiated Shakira’s sway in the mainstream North American market.

Shakira also delivered her Spanish greatest hits volume, Grandes Éxitos, in 2002 and won the International Viewer’s Choice Award at the MTV Video Music Awards with “Suerte.” Five additional MTV Video Music Awards followed as the crossover strategy continued; for Aerosmith’s MTV Icon Award, Shakira performed “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” and she joined Celine Dion, Anastacia, Cher and the Dixie Chicks for “VH1 Divas Live: Las Vegas.” A DVD and ten-track compilation album, Live & Off the Record, was also released in 2004, commemorating Shakira’s “Tour of the Mongoose.”

Following this massive media presence, Shakira retreated from the spotlight until revealing the bilingual Oral Fixation concept. Fijación Oral Vol. 1, with songs in Spanish, was released in 2005 as the lead single, “La Tortura,” featuring Alejandro Sanz, spent a record 25 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. Selling 157,000 copies in its first week of release in the U.S., it was the highest debut ever for a Spanish-language album. In Latin America, on the day of its official release in Venezuela, it went platinum; in Colombia, triple-platinum, and in Mexico, it was sold-out as the album moved a monumental million units in three days.

Oral Fixation Vol. 2, with songs in English, was released later the same year and sold a resounding eight million copies. Two tracks from the album, “How Do You Do” and “Timor,” sparked controversy, allegedly over themes questioning faith, and the CD cover, revealing Shakira’s considerable physical attributes, also had to be altered in several territories. This sensual side of the artist was equally evident on “Hips Don’t Lie” (with special guest Wyclef Jean), her first number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Charts. Shakira was subsequently awarded the highest number of MTV Video Music Award nominations for the electrifying video that accompanied the song.

With the success of their previous duet, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz once again teamed up for “Te lo Agradezco, Pero No,” featured on Sanz’s El Tren de los Momentos. Tapping another music icon, Shakira released the single “Illegal,” featuring Carlos Santana, a major hit on both the Hot Dance Music/Club Play and Hot Dance Airplay charts and in Europe.

In early 2007, Shakira paired with Beyoncé Knowles on “Beautiful Liar,” from the deluxe edition of Beyoncé’s B’Day. The single soared an unprecedented 91 positions, from 94 to 3, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record for the most rapid ascent in the history of the chart.

Another side of Shakira was revealed when she founded Fundación Pies Descalzos, a Colombian charity with special schools for impoverished children. Honored at a United Nations ceremony, she pointedly observed: “Let’s not forget that at the end of this day when we all go home, 960 children will have died in Latin America.” Shakira is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and she performed “Whenever, Wherever” and “La Tortura” on the Live 8 benefit concert at the Palace of Versailles, France.

While an immense international presence is confirmation of Shakira’s global stardom, at the heart of her magic are the songs: rich with purpose, promise and personality. In the Arabic language, the two-time Grammy and eight-time Latin Grammy Award-winning singer’s name might be interpreted as either “full of gratitude” or “full of grace.” Either way, it’s the perfect description for an inspiring star of dazzling magnitude.

Jean, who has lived and recorded in Los Angeles and New York in addition to his current home base of Miami, is signed as a songwriter to Cherry Casa Music (the Latin division of Cherry Lane). Having written for signature artists such as Olga Tañón and featured on the Yu-Gi-Oh soundtrack, it was his Sony/BMG Urban Music Entertainment debut, ON, that propelled him squarely into the modern pop consciousness.

As a songwriter, Jean channels old-school influences such as Boyz II Men and Mint Condition into something edgy and new. Framed with distinctive acoustic guitars and spare electric beats, a charismatic romanticism is evident in his expressive, gritty tenor. His first single, “Juegas Con Fuego” (“Playing with Fire”), was released in Spanish, Spanglish, and instrumental and acapella versions in both English and Spanish. In addition, high profile concerts, including an appearance in Germany at the World Cup festivities, have transported him worldwide.

A smoldering visual presence, displayed to full effect in his sultry videos, it is Jean’s superb craft as a songwriter that distinguishes his artistry. Bi-lingual, modern and streetwise, he creates an inclusive soundtrack for romance that leaves no audience untouched.

“Samantha and Porfirio are exemplary musical citizens who care deeply about music education and about assisting young composers and songwriters” said BMI Foundation President Ralph N. Jackson. “Clearly their leadership and vision will be central to the Foundation’s continued vitality and growth.”

Samantha Cox, Senior Director of BMI Writer/Publisher Relations, will serve as the Foundation’s Director of the John Lennon Scholarship Program, a national competition for young songwriters.

Porfirio Piña, Director of Latin Music at BMI, has served as the BMI Foundation’s Director of the peermusic Latin Scholarship, a national competition for Latin songwriters, since 2006.

Reelected Directors and Officers include Ralph N. Jackson, President; Robbin Ahrold, Vice President; Gary F. Roth, Vice President; Jean Banks, Secretary; Angelo Bruno, Treasurer; Tom Annastas, Evelyn Buckstein, and Linda Livingston.

The BMI Foundation, Inc. is supported by tax-deductible donations from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 95% of all donations and income are used for charitable purposes. More information about the BMI Foundation is available at www.bmifoundation.org.

Workshop Artistic Coordinator Pat Cook (left) and BMI's Jean Banks flank 2006 BMI Foundation/Jerry Harrington Award winners Jim Colleran, Beth Falcone and Justin Warner.

Winners included first year student Carl Danielsen, second year student Jim Colleran, advanced class student Beth Falcone and librettist student Justin Warner. The Foundation also presented its first Shelley Pinz Prize to Joy Son, a member of the Workshop's advanced class.

Shelley Pinz Prize winner Joy Son (center) is congratulated by BMI's Jean Banks and Pat Cook.

Established by Harrington's longtime friend and colleague, BMI executive Evelyn Buckstein, the awards are given each year in Harrington's honor to celebrate the late attorney's lifelong love of musical theater. Over the past seven years, these awards have given early recognition to some of the most talented and promising young musical theatre composers and librettists working in the field today, including the Tony Award-winning writers of Avenue Q, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who received the first Harrington Awards in 2000.

Deemed "the Harvard of musical theatre" by The New York Times, the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop was founded in 1961 by the late Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre, to create a setting where new writers could learn their craft. Included among the prestigious honors the Workshop has received are a special 2006 Drama Desk Award "for nurturing, developing and promoting new talent for the musical theater" and the 2005 Drama League Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre.

The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 97% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.  

photos by Fernando Leon

Pictured at the Kleban Awards reception are 2001 Kleban Award recipient David Spencer; book writer Linda Kline, co-writer of Broadway's "A Class Act," based on the BMI Workshop, with music and lyrics by Edward L. Kleban; "Barnstomer" composer Doug Cohen; 2005 Kleban Award Winner Cheryl L. Davis; 2001 Kleban Award recipient Pat Cook, who serves as Artistic Coordinator of the Workshop; and BMI's Jean Banks. Photo by Gary Gershoff

The Kleban Award is given annually by the Kleban Foundation to the most promising lyricist and librettist in American musical theatre. Established in 1988 under the will of BMI composer Edward L Kleban, best known for the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "A Chorus Line," each winner receives $100,000.

The work of Cheryl L. Davis has been read and performed nationally, including at the Cleveland Play House, the Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Kennedy Center. Her play about the desegregation of our nations' school system, "The Color of Justice," received critical acclaim from the The New York Times and the Daily News, and was commissioned by Theatreworks/USA. She is currently working with composer Doug Cohen ("No Way to Treat a Lady," "The Gig") on the musical version of "Barnstormer," which also received a 2005 Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award.]]> 2005-07-04T18:00:00-05:00