TENTH ANNUAL ASCAP FOUNDATION AWARDS PRESENTED
AT NYC RECEPTION ON DECEMBER 14

Inaugural ASCAP Foundation Champion Award
In Music Education Presented To Billy Joel

ASCAP Foundation Champion Award in Music Education honoree Billy Joel with ASCAP Foundation President Marilyn Bergman

The ASCAP Foundation celebrated its 30th Anniversary at the 10th Annual ASCAP Foundation Awards Ceremony and Reception, held on December 14th, 2005 in the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The evening was especially memorable with the presentation of the inaugural Champion Award in Music Education to Billy Joel in recognition of his outstanding support of music education. Joel first began holding "master class" sessions on college campuses more than 20 years ago, and has shared his musical knowledge with aspiring musicians and songwriters at colleges around the world. In 2005, he launched an ongoing educational initiative to provide seed money, musical scholarships and endowments to a variety of East Coast colleges, universities and music schools. As part of the Champion Award, The ASCAP Foundation established a special fund in Billy Joel's name earmarked to support the Summer Music Camp at Manhattan School of Music.

Other highlights of the evening included some special live performances. In celebration of Billy Joel's illustrious career, singer-songwriter Johnny Rodgers performed selections from the superstar's pop catalogue, and pianist Molly Morkowski played two movements from Joel's Opus 1-10: Fantasies and Delusions: Music For Solo Piano. The ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award recipient and singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins performed an original work, as did Young Jazz Composer honoree Sherisse Rogers.

Honors were also presented that evening to a wide variety of Award, Scholarship and Fellowship recipients, some of whom are pictured here:

Foundation Board member Jay Morgenstern presents The ASCAP Foundation Fran Morgenstern Davis Scholarship to Adam Czerepinski	Foundation Board member Tita Cahn presents The ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award to Nicole Atkins
Floria Lasky presents The ASCAP Foundation Frederick Loewe Scholarship to Paul Nelson	Phoebe Jacobs presents The ASCAP Foundation Louis Armstrong Award honoring W.C. Handy to Sarah Bellot