The BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Presents Its 36th Annual Summer Showcase On June 20th At Symphony Space In New York City
Featuring the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra & the World Premiere of a New Commission from 2024 Winner Takumi Kakimoto
The BMI Foundation Will Also Award the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize & Manny Albam Commission
The BMI Jazz Composers Workshop will present the best big band and jazz orchestra compositions produced throughout the year at its 36th Annual Summer Showcase on June 20 at 7:30PM ET at Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, New York, NY). The evening will feature the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece modern repertory ensemble made up of leading New York musicians, performing eight new compositions developed in the workshop this season. The annual Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize and Manny Album Commission will be awarded to one of the new works. Additionally, the evening will also feature a new commission from last year’s prize winner Takumi Kakimoto. The event is free and open to the public.
Musical Director, Andy Farber will be returning for his ninth year to lead the program alongside Assistant Musical Director and three-time GRAMMY-nominee, Alan Ferber. Farber teaches jazz composition and arranging at The Juilliard School in New York and has written arrangements for legendary artists including Shirley Horn and Jon Hendricks, as well as symphony orchestras including the Boston Pops Orchestra. Outside of the jazz arena, Farber also composes music for media that includes TV commercials, TV shows, web series, documentaries, and feature films. Returning for his seventh year, Ferber is a Downbeat Poll-winning trombonist, a multi GRAMMY-nominated composer/arranger, and a band leader with nine recordings under his name. As a recording artist, he has played on over 150 albums, having collaborated with a broad range of artists including Esperanza Spalding, Miguel Zenon, Paul Simon, Sufjan Stevens, and Dr. Dre. Currently, Ferber teaches composition and arranging at New York University and Montclair State University and directs the NYU Jazz Orchestra.
The BMI Foundation will award the 26th Annual Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize to the writer of the best new work composed in this year’s BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, determined by three judges, Adam Birnbaum, Dave Douglas and Scott Healy. Past judges have included David Berger, Don Braden, Alan Broadbent, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Darcy J. Argue, John Fedchock, Ingrid Jensen, Slide Hampton, Elio Villafranca and more. This year’s winning composer will also receive the Manny Albam Commission, named in memory of the Workshop’s co-founder and longtime musical director, to compose a new piece for the 2026 showcase.
Since its founding in 1939, BMI has been deeply involved in the jazz community. Its continuation of the Jazz Composers Workshop is a testament to BMI’s dedication to the jazz community and its Workshop members.
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