Aside from the recent Macarthur Genius Grant award, Zorn just picked up another grant from Columbia joining past recipents such as Gunther Schuller and Steve Reich.
It'll be interesting to see what all the recent kudos and $$$$$Zorn has been receiving lately will do to develop / promote / distribute both the downtown NYC scene as well as the Creative/Improvised music genre in general.
This is from a
downtown music gallery news letter post:
"CONGRATULATIONS TO JOHN ZORN!
JOHN ZORN is the 2007 recipient of the William Schuman Award
Columbia's MILLER THEATRE hosts concert and award ceremony
Thursday, April 26, 8:00PM
From Dan Kleinman, Acting Dean, Columbia University School of the Arts:
"The School of the Arts is pleased to present the
William Schuman Award to John Zorn, whose
astonishingly diverse and extraordinary body of
work has enlightened, startled, and enchanted its
listeners. His lasting contribution to the
repertoire of today has changed the landscape of
composition."
Columbia University's School of the Arts
honors composer JOHN ZORN with the WILLIAM
SCHUMAN AWARD, a major recognition given
periodically over the past twenty-five years.
Named for its first recipient William Schuman,
the award, in the form of a direct, unrestricted
grant of $50,000, is one of the largest to an
American composer. In the language of the gift
establishing the prize, the purpose of the
William Schuman Award is "to recognize the
lifetime achievement of an American composer
whose works have been widely performed and
generally acknowledged to be of lasting
significance." It is awarded by the Dean of the
School of the Arts at Columbia University. The
award was established in 1981 by a bequest from
the Schuman family. Previous winners have
included Schuman, David Diamond, Gunther
Schuller, Milton Babbitt, and Hugo Weisgall, and,
most recently in 2001, Steve Reich.
Drawing on his experience in a variety of
genres including jazz, rock, hardcore punk,
classical, klezmer, film, cartoon, popular, and
improvised music, Zorn has created an influential
body of work that defies academic categories. A
native of New York City, he has been a central
figure in the downtown scene since 1975,
incorporating a wide range of musicians in
various compositional formats. He learned
alchemical synthesis from Harry Smith, structural
ontology with Richard Foreman, how to make art
out of garbage with Jack Smith, cathartic
expression at Sluggs, and hermetic intuition from
Joseph Cornell. Early inspirations include
American innovators Ives, Varèse, Cage, Carter,
and Partch; the European tradition of Berg,
Stravinsky, Boulez, and Kagel; soundtrack
composers Herrmann, Morricone, and Stalling; and
avant-garde theatre, film, and art.
Described as "endlessly inventive" by
George Steel, the Executive Director of
Columbia's Miller Theatre, Zorn was celebrated
with one of Miller's signature Composer Portraits
this past October. Also this year, the composer
won a "genius" grant from the MacArthur
Foundation. Miller will host a concert and awards
ceremony for the Schuman recognition on Thursday,
April 26 (concert details to be announced)."