Terence Blanchard Honored as a BMI Icon at BMI’s 2019 Film, TV & Visual Media Awards

BMI proudly held its 35th annual Film, TV & Visual Media Awards last night to celebrate the top performing composers in film, TV and visual media of the past year. The highest honors of the evening went to film composer and multiple award-winning jazz musician, Terence Blanchard, who was named a BMI Icon in recognition of his significant contributions to the cinematic community, while William Ross received BMI’s Classic Contribution Award for his outstanding work as an arranger, orchestrator, conductor, music director, composer and mentor to emerging talent. The private ceremony was hosted by Vice President, Creative – Film, TV & Visual Media, Doreen Ringer-Ross and BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

O’Neill presented Blanchard with the BMI Icon accolade in front of a room of his peers, noting that the award was “reserved for extraordinary members of the BMI family, whose artistry has had an unparalleled impact on both music lovers and music creators.” He went on to say, “You’ve humbly said you stand on the shoulders of musical legends. Well, Terence, steady your shoulders, because there are many you will carry as they aspire to your legacy.”

After a tribute video that highlighted his successful career, Blanchard thanked BMI “for opening your arms to all of us who want to be a part of the creative process.” He went on to say, “We just want to express ourselves in an artistic way. We have a burning desire to say something that is in us and sometimes we don’t even know what it is that we are trying to say, but these projects give us room to do that.”

In receiving this honor, Blanchard joins an elite group of previous BMI Icon recipients including Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, Alexandre Desplat, Rachel Portman, David Newman, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Harry Gregson-Williams and John Williams, among others.

Earlier in the evening, William Ross was presented with the BMI Classic Contribution Award in recognition of his extensive work mentoring new talent throughout his career, which has spanned feature films, the recording industry and television. In receiving this award, Ross joins a prestigious list of previous recipients including Rick Baitz, Lucas Richman, Peter Golub, Mike Post, Chris Montan, David Newman and Terence Blanchard, who received this honor for his vital work as an educator and mentor to emerging composers in 2010.

Many other notable composers were saluted throughout the ceremony as well, for music featured in the past year’s top-grossing films, top-rated network television series and highest-ranking cable network and streamed media programs. Some of the night’s multiple award winners included Nathan Barr, Tyler Bates, Ludwig Göransson, Harry Gregson-Williams, Mark Mothersbaugh, Mac Quayle, Rob Simonsen, and Brian Tyler, among others. Atli Örvarsson received the most awards of the night with a total of four crystal statuettes for his work on the hit TV shows Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and FBI.

Over a career that has spanned three decades, BMI Icon Blanchard has scored more than 50 films, recorded more than 33 albums and toured the world.  He’s a five-time GRAMMY Award winner, a 2018 US Artists Fellow, and most recently, an Oscar nominee for his music in Spike Lee’s blockbuster BlacKkKlansman, which the New York Times called “a soaring, seething, luxuriant score.” As Lee’s longtime collaborator, Blanchard has scored 17 of his films, including Malcolm X; Jungle Fever; Clockers; Summer of Sam; Inside Man; 25th Hour (which garnered a Golden Globe nomination) and the documentary When the Levees Broke, about Blanchard’s hometown of New Orleans during the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. Outside of his work in film and television, Blanchard is also a celebrated bandleader and trumpeter with an unwavering dedication to jazz education, frequently holding master classes around the world.

Complete Winners’ List

BMI Icon
Terence Blanchard

BMI Classic Contribution Award
William Ross

Academy Award® Winners

HONORARY ACADEMY AWARD
Lalo Schifrin

BLACK PANTHER
Ludwig Göransson

“SHALLOW” from A STAR IS BORN
Lady Gaga
Mark Ronson
Andrew Wyatt

BMI Film Music Awards

AVENGERS: ENDGAME
Alan Silvestri

DEADPOOL 2
Tyler Bates

THE GRINCH
Danny Elfman

VENOM
Ludwig Göransson

CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Brian Tyler

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION
Mark Mothersbaugh

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
James Newton Howard

HALLOWEEN
Daniel A. Davies

THE MEG
Harry Gregson-Williams

THE NUN
Abel Korzeniowski

CREED II
Ludwig Göransson

GLASS
West Dylan Thordson

THE UPSIDE
Rob Simonsen

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
Mark Mothersbaugh

DUMBO
Danny Elfman

THE EQUALIZER 2
Harry Gregson-Williams

GREEN BOOK
Kris Bowers

NIGHT SCHOOL
David Newman

A MADEA FAMILY FUNERAL
Philip White

BOOK CLUB
Peter Nashel

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Nathan Barr

SKYSCRAPER
Steve Jablonsky

INSTANT FAMILY
Michael Andrews

BMI Streaming Media Awards

BIG MOUTH
Mark Rivers

THE BOSS BABY: BACK IN BUSINESS
Ben Bromfield
Ryan Elder
Jared Faber

THE PUNISHER
Tyler Bates

FULLER HOUSE
Jeff Franklin
Bennett Salvay

LOST IN SPACE
Christopher Lennertz
John Williams

RUNAWAYS
Siddhartha Khosla

FUTURE MAN
Halli Cauthery

THE LOOMING TOWER
Will Bates

SNEAKY PETE
Nathan Barr
Edward Braillif
Stephen Lukach

BOSCH
Jesse Nolan

BMI Network Television Music Awards

NCIS
Brian Kirk

YOUNG SHELDON
Steve Burns

THIS IS US
Siddhartha Khosla

AMERICA‘S GOT TALENT
Jos Jorgensen
Andy Love

BLUE BLOODS
Rob Simonsen

FBI
Atli Örvarsson

NEW AMSTERDAM
Craig Wedren

CHICAGO FIRE
Atli Örvarsson

BULL
Sean Callery

CHICAGO MED
Atli Örvarsson

CHICAGO P.D.
Atli Örvarsson

NCIS: NEW ORLEANS
Tree Adams
John Lee Hooker

GREY‘S ANATOMY
Carim Clasmann (PRS)
Galia Durant (PRS)

HAWAII FIVE-0
Keith Power (SOCAN)
Brian Tyler

NCIS: LOS ANGELES
Craig Dobbin
9-1-1
Mac Quayle

CODE BLACK
Clinton Shorter

S.W.A.T.
Barry De Vorzon

MURPHY BROWN
Steve Dorff

CRIMINAL MINDS
Mark Mancina

MAGNUM P.I.
Pete Carpenter
Mike Post
Keith Power (SOCAN)
Brian Tyler

MADAM SECRETARY
Mike Fratantuno
Terence Yoshiaki

SEAL TEAM
A. Patrick Rose
Snuffy Walden

THE FLASH
Nathaniel Blume
Blake Neely

MI MARIDO TIENE MÁS FAMILIA
Ricardo Larrea

BMI Cable Television Music Awards

ANIMAL KINGDOM
Samuel Jones
Alexis Marsh
Atticus Ross
Claudia Sarne

WESTWORLD
Ramin Djawadi

THE LAST O.G.
Joseph Stephens

THE SINNER
Ronit Kirchman

PAW PATROL
James Chapple (SOCAN)
Jeff Cohen
Graeme Cornies (SOCAN)
David Kelly (SOCAN)
Scott Krippayne
Brian Pickett (SOCAN)
Michael “Smidi” Smith

AMERICAN HORROR STORY
Charlie Clouser
César Dávila-Irizarry
Mac Quayle

ANDI MACK
Shridhar Solanki

ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE
Jacob Shea

ROBOT CHICKEN
Les Claypool
Kevin Manthei

INTO THE BADLANDS
Mike Shinoda

EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS
Marco Flores