Carole King received the BMI Icon Award recognizing the “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers” she has made through her incomparable catalog as a songwriter and recording artist.

Ester Dean, Benny Blanco and Pitbull all earned the coveted BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year title. Dean, Blanco and Pitbull each contributed five songs to the year’s most performed list. Dean composed “What’s My Name?,” “Rude Boy,” “S&M,” “Super Bass” and “Firework”; Blanco wrote “Blow,” “Please Don’t Go,” “Teenage Dream,” “We R Who We R” and “Dynamite”; and Pitbull penned “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,” “Give Me Everything,” “Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor),” “I Like It” and “On the Floor.”

Dean enjoyed an especially big night, as “Firework” clinched BMI Pop Song of the Year honors for her and co-writer Sandy Vee, as well as publishers Dat Damn Dean Music and peermusic III, Ltd.

With 10 songs among the year’s most-performed, Universal Music Publishing Group claimed the prestigious BMI Pop Publisher of the Year crystal.

The all-star tribute to King featured promising young talent, an international star, and a golden-age pop idol, reflecting the broad appeal of King’s extraordinary work. 19 Recordings/Interscope Records recording artist and American Idol alumna Haley Reinhart delivered an inspiring performance of “Beautiful”; Universal Republic recording artist Colbie Caillat offered a soulful rendition of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”; and Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits capped off the tribute with “I’m into Something Good,” the debut smash for Herman’s Hermits in 1964.

As a BMI Icon, King joins an elite list that includes David Foster, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, the Jacksons, the Bee Gees, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Paul Simon, Merle Haggard, Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson, James Brown, Carlos Santana, Dolly Parton, and others.

King was born in Brooklyn, and her songwriting career ignited nearby in Manhattan with Don Kirshner's Aldon Music in the early 60s. With writing partner and then-husband Gerry Goffin, King topped charts with the Shirelles’ “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” then Bobby Vee’s “Take Good Care of My Baby.” A flood of hits followed: Little Eva’s “Loco-Motion,” the Chiffons’ “One Fine Day,” the Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” the Drifters’ “Up on the Roof,” Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” the Crystals’ “He Hit Me (And it Felt Like a Kiss)” and more. When she released her own album Tapestry in 1971, breathtaking songs such as “So Far Away,” “It’s Too Late,” “I Feel the Earth Move” and “You’ve Got a Friend” (also recorded by close friend James Taylor) propelled King to four Grammy wins and fueled the album’s six-year stay on the charts. King became a superstar, and Tapestry became the biggest-selling album of the era. To date, more than 400 of King’s timeless compositions have been recorded by more than 1000 artists, resulting in 100 hit singles, many reaching No. 1. She has won 31 BMI songwriting awards spanning pop, r&b and country categories, and 18 of her compositions have earned more than one million performances. King is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The 60th annual BMI Pop Awards were hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant, along with Barbara Cane, BMI Vice President/General Manager, Los Angeles, and Phil Graham, BMI Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations.

2012 BMI Pop Awards

BMI Icon
CAROLE KING

Pop Songwriters of the Year
BENJAMIN “BENNY BLANCO” LEVIN
“Blow”
“Dynamite” (2nd Award)
“Please Don’t Go”
“Teenage Dream”
“We R Who We R”

ESTER DEAN
“Firework”
“Rude Boy”
“S&M”
“Super Bass”
“What’s My Name? ”

ARMANDO “PITBULL” PEREZ
“DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love”
“Give Me Everything”
“Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor) ”
“I Like It”
“On the Floor”

Pop Song of the Year
“FIREWORK”
Ester Dean
Sandy Vee
Dat Damn Dean Music
peermusic III, Ltd.
Katy Perry

Pop Publisher of the Year
UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP
“For The First Time”
“Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)”
“Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
“Nothin’ On You”
“Rolling In The Deep”
“September”
“Super Bass”
“Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)”
“Waiting For The End”
“Yeah 3X”

Award-winning Songs

ALL IN
Jude Cole
Jason Wade
Jason Wade Music
Jeseth Music
Lifehouse

ANIMAL
Chris Allen
Elaine Bradley
Branden Campbell
Tyler Glenn
Tim Pagnotta
Downtown DMP Songs
Neon Trees

BLOW
Ke$ha
Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin
Dynamite Cop Music
Matza Ball Music
Where Da Kasz At?
Ke$ha

BORN THIS WAY
Fernando Garibay
Lady Gaga
Garibay Music Publishing
House of Gaga Publishing, Inc.
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Lady Gaga

CLUB CAN'T HANDLE ME
Kasia Livingston
Giorgio Tuinfort
Art In The Fodder Music
Dad's Dreamer
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Flo Rida featuring David Guetta

DJ GOT US FALLIN' IN LOVE
Savan Kotecha
Armando "Pitbull" Perez
Johan "Shellback" Schuster (STIM)
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Oh Suki Music, Inc.
Pitbull's Legacy
Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing
Usher featuring Pitbull

DYNAMITE (2nd Award)
Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie McKee Music
CYP Two Publishing
Matza Ball Music
Where Da Kasz At?
Taio Cruz

EDGE OF GLORY
Fernando Garibay
Lady Gaga
Garibay Music Publishing
House of Gaga Publishing, Inc.
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Lady Gaga

FIREWORK
Ester Dean
Sandy Vee
Dat Damn Dean Music
peermusic lll, Ltd.
Katy Perry

FOR THE FIRST TIME
Daniel O'Donoghue (PRS/IMRO)
Mark Sheehan (PRS/IMRO)
Universal Music-Z Songs
The Script

FORGET YOU
Cee Lo Green
BMG Chrysalis
God Given Music
Cee Lo Green

GIVE ME EVERYTHING
Afrojack (BUMA)
Armando "Pitbull" Perez
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Tenyor Music
Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer

GOOD LIFE
Noel Zancanella
Songs of Patriot Games
OneRepublic

GRENADE
Claude Kelly
Andrew Wyatt
Downtown DMP Songs
Studio Beast Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Bruno Mars

HEY BABY (DROP IT TO THE FLOOR)
Armando "Pitbull" Perez
T-Pain
Sandy Vee
Nappypub Music
Pitbull's Legacy
Ultra Empire Music
Universal Music-Z Songs
Pitbull featuring T-Pain

I LIKE IT
Armando "Pitbull" Perez
RedOne
Pitbull's Legacy
Songs of RedOne
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull

JAR OF HEARTS
Christina Perri
Miss Perri Lane Publishing
Christina Perri

JUST A DREAM
David Ryan Harris
Jim Jonsin
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Jimipub Music
Peace Pourage Music
Nelly

JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH
apl.de.ap
Rodney Jerkins
Stephen Shadowen
Taboo
will.i.am
apl.de.ap publishing, llc
BMG Sapphire Songs
i.am.composing llc
Rodney Jerkins Productions, Inc.
Tab Magnetic Publishing
Black Eyed Peas

KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
Andy Grammer
S-Curve Songs Worldwide
Andy Grammer

LAST FRIDAY NIGHT (T.G.I.F.)
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie McKee Music
CYP Two Publishing
Where Da Kasz At?
Katy Perry

LIKE A G6
Jae "j-Splif" Choung
James "Prohgress" Roh
Fmonyourdial Publishing
Hunnypot Happenings
Far East Movement featuring The Cataracts & Dev

MARRY ME
David Katz
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Reptillian Music
Train

MAYBE
Emma Anzai (APRA)
Marti Frederiksen
Shimon Moore (APRA)
Sienna Sienna Songs
Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing
Sick Puppies

MINE
Taylor Swift
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Taylor Swift Music
Taylor Swift

NEVER GONNA LEAVE THIS BED
Jesse Carmichael
Adam Levine
Mickey Madden
February Twenty-Second Music
Universal Music-Careers
Maroon 5

NOTHIN' ON YOU
B.o.B
Ham Squad Music
Songs of Universal, Inc.
B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars

OMG
will.i.am
BMG Sapphire Songs
i.am.composing llc
Usher featuring will.i.am

ON THE FLOOR
Bilal "The Chef" Hajji
Kinda Hamid (STIM)
Achraf "AJ Junior" Jannusi
Armando "Pitbull" Perez
RedOne
Geraldo "Teddy Sky" Sandell (STIM)
2101 Songs
Pitbull's Legacy
Songs of RedOne
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull

ONLY GIRL (IN THE WORLD)
Sandy Vee
Ultra Empire Music
Rihanna

PERFECT
P!nk
Johan "Shellback" Schuster (STIM)
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
P!nk Inside Publishing
Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing
P!nk

PLEASE DON'T GO
Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin
Matza Ball Music
Where Da Kasz At?
Mike Posner

PUMPED UP KICKS
Mark Foster
Smims Coffee and Tea Music Publishing
Foster the People

RAISE YOUR GLASS
P!nk
Johan "Shellback" Schuster (STIM)
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
P!nk Inside Publishing
Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing
P!nk

ROCKETEER
Jae "j-Splif" Choung
James "Prohgress" Roh
Ray Romulus
Jonathan Yip
Fmonyourdial Publishing
Hunnypot Happenings
Music For Milo
Please Enjoy The Music
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Far East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder

ROLLING IN THE DEEP
Adele (PRS)
Paul Epworth
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.
Adele

RUDE BOY
Ester Dean
Makeba Riddick
Rihanna
Rob Swire (PRS)
Annarhi Music LLC
BMG Chrysalis
Dat Damn Dean Music
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Janice Combs Music
peermusic lll, Ltd.
Yoga Flames Publishing
Rihanna

S&M
Ester Dean
Sandy Vee
Dat Damn Dean Music
peermusic lll, Ltd.
Ultra Empire Music
Rihanna

SEPTEMBER
Chris Daughtry
Josh Steely
Steelysongs
Surface Pretty Deep Ugly Music
Universal Music-Careers
Daughtry

SING
Frank Iero
Ray Toro
Gerard Way
Mikey Way
Better Living Industries
My Chemical Romance

SUPER BASS
Ester Dean
Daniel "Kane Beatz" Johnson
Nicki Minaj
Artist 101 Publishing Group
Dat Damn Dean Music
Harajuku Barbie Music
Money Mack Music
peermusic lll, Ltd.
Songs of Universal, Inc.
Nicki Minaj

TEENAGE DREAM
Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie McKee Music
CYP Two Publishing
Matza Ball Music
Where Da Kasz At?
Katy Perry

TILL THE WORLD ENDS
Ke$ha
Dynamite Cop Music
Where Da Kasz At?
Britney Spears

TONIGHT (I'M LOVIN' YOU)
Lauren Christy
Lauren Christy Songs
Universal Music-Careers
Enrique Iglesias featuring Ludacris and DJ Frank E.

TONIGHT TONIGHT
Evan Bogart
Ryan Keith Follese
Nash Overstreet
Here's Lookin' At You Kidd Music
Magic Midas
Nash O Music
Scarlet Moon Music, Inc.
Sleep When I'm Rich Music
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Hot Chelle Rae

WAITING FOR THE END
Chester Bennington
Rob Bourdon
Brad Delson
Dave Farrell
Joe Hahn
Mike Shinoda
Big Bad Mr. Hahn Music
Chesterchaz Publishing
Kenji Kobayashi Music
Nondisclosure Agreement Music
Pancakey Cakes Music
Rob Bourdon Music
Universal Music-Z Songs
Linkin Park

WE R WHO WE R
Ke$ha
Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin
Dynamite Cop Music
Matza Ball Music
Where Da Kasz At?
Ke$ha

WHAT THE HELL
Johan "Shellback" Schuster (STIM)
Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing
Avril Lavigne

WHAT'S MY NAME?
Ester Dean
Drake (SOCAN)
Dat Damn Dean Music
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Live Write LLC
peermusic lll, Ltd.
Rihanna featuring Drake

YEAH 3X
Chris Brown
Kevin McCall, Jr.
Culture Beyond Ur Experience Publishing
Kmacnificent
Songs of Universal, Inc.
Chris Brown

For more information, click here.

Mr. Cramer is survived by his wife, Robin; children Evin, Margie and Corky; grandchildren Kane, Clay, Jake and Gabe; and great-grandchildren Logan, Hailey, Aiden and Evan.

1. How do you feel about receiving the prestigious Kirk Award?
That's a complex question. There's something in me that always thought, "You get that kind of award if you're part of the establishment, not a young turk like me." So now I have to reappraise my status. It's very nice and generous of BMI to single me out.

2. You've scored nearly 50 feature films. How do you stay fresh?
It's always a challenge to try and discover something that will make a contribution. I'm not terribly interested in simply turning up the volume. It's always about what didn't make it from the screenplay to the screen, and how can music help with that? The film is the film, and you can't trample on it -- but you can invade it. It may seem cheeky or bold, I'm not sure which, but it's what I like to do.

3. Your degree is in psychology. Has that been helpful in what you now do for a living?
I did manage to do my final dissertation in "mood induction using music." I strongly and passionately believe that what we're really doing is wrangling emotion. We as composers need to forget about "writing music" and focus on what it is that's going to induce a certain emotional state.

4. Some of your films, such as About Schmidt and Up in the Air, tell complex emotional stories that aren't simply comedic or dramatic. How have you handled these?
There's a lot of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. What's great is when you have a director who is open to all sorts of things. Alexander Payne in particular is hugely collaborative. He's open to all sorts of possibilities. There is a lot of music written, he sorts through it, and he chooses things. But it's complicated; it just comes down to heart.

5. What's the most fun about your job?
The most fun is always the moment of discovery, the moment that it all fits together. I'm generally alone in a room with the film and my instruments, suddenly trying something and it just thrills me. I'm full of anticipation as to what the director will make of it, because it's often nothing that we discussed. So in a way it feels very naughty.

6. What can we expect from you in the coming months?
I've finished Gambit, with Colin Firth and Alan Rickman. It's a bit jazzy, a bit mischievous, and a bit Henry Mancini. It's coming out early next year. I'm also working on a French film called The Scapegoat. And then hopefully I'm working on Jason Reitman's next film, a beautiful story called Labor Day.

7. If you weren't a composer, what would you do?
I love audio. For years I was interested in doing radio theater, sound textures and things. I wouldn't want to be a recordist or mixer, but dealing with audio is very intriguing to me.

8. Why did you choose BMI?
For years I was a PRS composer and I could choose who, in the States, I dealt with, so I randomly switched between the two [BMI and its main U.S. competitor]. But over the years I developed such a good relationship with [Vice President, Film/TV Relations] Doreen Ringer Ross, and so enjoy and profit from her point of view. I didn't have to think about it.

9. What's your favorite live-music venue?
It used to be Kenwood Bowl in North London, and it still would be if they didn't use amplification. There is a lake right in front of the bowl, and then a grassy bank [that could accommodate] 10,000 to 15,000 people and their picnics. You could just lie under the stars and hear the music float across the lake.

10. What advice would you give to composers just starting out?
Let enthusiasm and creativity be your guide. And also be polite.

The award-winners for 2012 are:

Ryan Chase (age 25, studies at Indiana University) Joshua Fishbein (age 27, studies at the University of California Los Angeles) Andrew Hsu (age 17, studies at the Curtis Institute of Music) Laura M. Kramer (age 27, studies at the University of Southern California) Joseph E. Lyszczarz (age 25, studies at Bowling Green State University) Philippe Macnab-Séguin (age 19, studies at Vanier College) Michael D. Parsons (age 16, studies at The Juilliard School, Pre-College Division) Daniel Temkin (age 25, studies at the Curtis Institute of Music) Roger Zare (age 26, studies at the University of Michigan)

The BMI Student Composer Awards recognize superior creative talent and winners receive scholarship grants to be applied toward their musical education. In 2012, more than 700 manuscripts were submitted to the competition from throughout the Western Hemisphere, and all works were judged under pseudonyms. Cash awards totaled $20,000. Andrew Hsu was the named the winner of the William Schuman Prize, which is awarded to the score judged "most outstanding" in the competition. This special prize is given each year in memory of the late William Schuman, who served for 40 years as Chairman, and then Chairman Emeritus, of the BMI Student Composer Awards. Additionally, the Carlos Surinach Prize, awarded each year to the youngest winner in the competition, went to Michael D. Parsons.

The distinguished jury members for the 2012 competition were Chester Biscardi, Tobias Picker, David Rakowski and Joseph Schwantner. The preliminary judges were Shafer Mahoney, David Schober, Sean Shepherd and Bernadette Speach. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is the permanent Chair of the competition.

BMI has given 563 scholarship grants to young composers over the years. Many of the most prominent and active classical composers in the world today received their first recognition from the BMI Student Composer Awards. The BMI Student Composer Awards competition is co-sponsored by BMI and the BMI Foundation, Inc.

Biographical Information

Ryan Chase

BMI award-winning work: The Light Fantastic for orchestra

Ryan Chase was born in Port Jefferson, NY and currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana. He received a B.M. in composition from the Mannes College of Music in 2008, and a M.M. in composition in 2010 from Indiana University, where he is currently pursuing a D.M. in composition. He has studied composition with Claude Baker, Don Freund, Keith Fitch, Gabriela Ortíz, and David Tcimpidis. In 2012 Chase was named an ACO Underwood Readings Recipient and awarded an Aspen Music Festival Fellowship. Winner of the William Schuman Prize in the 2011 BMI Student Composer Awards, he has also received the first prizes from the National Association of Composers and the USA National Young Composers’ Competition, and the Albany Symphony Orchestra Composers to Center Stage Award during that same year. His works have been performed by the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, Contemporaneous, the Mannes Orchestra, Chelsea Symphony, and the Alaria Ensemble at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Chase’s BMI award-winning work will be publicly read at the Underwood Readings by the American Composers Orchestra, conducted by George Manahan, on June 2 at the DiMenna Center in New York City.

Joshua Fishbein

BMI award-winning work: With A Greeting for SSAATTBB a cappella chorus

Joshua Fishbein was born in 1984 in Baltimore, Maryland and currently lives in Los Angeles. He received a B.F.A. in composition and a B.S. in psychology from Carnegie Mellon University, a M.M. in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory, and is currently working on a PhD in composition from the University of California at Los Angeles. He has studied composition with Paul Chihara, Ian Krouse, David Lefkowitz, Roger Bourland, David Conte, and Nancy Galbraith, among others. Fishbein has also studied piano with Jack Kurutz, Carol Prochazka, Lee Cooper and Gil Meerdter, and voice with Michael Mentzel. He was a winner in the 2012-2013 Hollywood Master Chorale “Voices of LA” Project, the 2011-2012 Guild of Temple Musicians Young Composers Award, the 2011 American Choral Directors Association Brock Memorial Student Competition, and many more. His works have been performed by Hollywood Master Chorale, California State University at Fullerton University Singers, WomenSing, the Princeton Singers, and the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic, among others. His BMI award-winning work was premiered by The Esoterics in October, 2011 on their Washington state tour.

Andrew Hsu (William Schuman Prize)

BMI award-winning work: Dickinson Songs for soprano and piano

Andrew Hsu was born in Fremont, California in 1994 and currently resides in Philadelphia, where he is pursuing a B.M. at the Curtis Institute of Music. Hsu’s composition teachers include Richard Danielpour, David Ludwig, and Pamela Layman Quist. An active chamber musician at Curtis and venues such as the Kennedy Center, he has studied piano with Gary Graffman, Eleanor Sokoloff, Meng-Chieh Liu, Erna Gulabyan, Hans Boepple and Jed Galant, and percussion with Tomasz Kowalczyk. He is the recipient of many important and prestigious prizes including first prize in the Music Institute of Chicago’s Generation Next Young Composers’ Competition for his Sonic Fragments for solo piano, and first prize and audience prize in the Robert Avalon Young Composers’ Competition for his Piano Trio. Hsu’s works have been performed by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Robert Avalon Ensemble, and others.

Laura M. Kramer

BMI award-winning work: The Miracle of the Walking Fish for baritone and guitar

Laura M. Kramer was born in Minersville, Pennsylvania and currently resides in Los Angeles. She received a B.M. in saxophone performance from the West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 2006, a M.M. in composition from Indiana University in 2008, and is currently working on a D.M.A. in composition at the University of Southern California. She has studied composition with Don Crockett, Frank Ticheli, Brian Shepard, Claude Baker, Don Freund, Jeffrey Hass, Michael Gandolfi, Robert Maggio, Mark Rimple, and Larry Nelson, and saxophone with James Rötter and Greg Riley. She has been awarded the Carolyn Alchin Endowed Music Scholarship, the Charles S. and Margherita Gangemi Memorial Scholarship, the Swope Foundation Scholarship, and many more. She was a guest presenter at the West Chester and Mansfield Universities of Pennsylvania in March, 2011. Kramer’s works have been performed by such ensembles as the Quintessential Winds, USC Contemporary Music Ensemble, and IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and commissions have come from Duo Montagnard and tubist David Holben. Her BMI award-winning work was premiered at USC in September, 2011 and was performed again in May, 2012 in Los Angeles.

Joseph E. Lyszczarz

BMI award-winning work: Tracing Shadows for large chamber ensemble

Joseph Lyszczarz was born in Syracuse, New York and now lives in Bowling Green, Ohio. He received a B.M. in composition from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam and is currently pursuing a M.M. in composition at Bowling Green State University, where he is a Graduate Assistant in music theory. He has studied composition with Mikel Kuehn, Elaine Lillios, Christopher Dietz, Gregory Wanamaker, Paul Steinberg, and Paul Siskind. Lyszczarz also studied flute with Kenneth Andrews and Cornelia Brewster and has performed with the BGSU Early Music Ensemble and performed at the Utica Monday Night Summer Art Festival. His music has been featured at Bowling Green State University, the School of the Arts Guest Artist Recital in Phoenix, Arizona, SUNY Potsdam, and the American Saxophone Alliance Region 2 Conference in Las Vegas. Joseph Lyszczarz’ BMI award-winning composition was read by Alarm Will Sound at Bowling Green State University in March, 2012.

Philippe Macnab-Séguin

BMI award-winning work: Ubiquity for flute, B-flat clarinet, piano, violin and cello.

Philippe Macnab-Séguin was born in 1992 in Montreal, Quebec, where he is now enrolled at Vanier College. He is also currently studying composition privately at McGill Conservatory with Félix Baril and taking group composition lessons with Glen Ethier and Christopher Smith at Vanier. He has studied jazz guitar with Nick Di Tomaso and Eric Ostiguy. Macnab-Séguin was primarily self-taught by writing progressive metal songs for his band, reading theory textbooks and listening to a very wide variety of music in high school. His band, Peak of the Pendulum, was a semi-finalist in the Quebec TV show, Can Your School Rock.

Michael D. Parsons (Carlos Surinach Prize)

BMI award-winning work: Wolf for full orchestra

Michael Parsons was born in 1996 and currently lives in Stirling, New Jersey, where he attends the Watchung Hills Regional High School. He also studies at the Juilliard School, Pre-College Division and at Making Score, New York Youth Symphony’s program for young composers. He has previously attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Composition Program and the Cali School of Music. His composition teachers include Ira Taxin, John Kaefer, Michael Ippolito, Kyle Blaha, Martin Amlin, Justin Casinghino, Anna Clyne, and Patrick Burns, and he has studied piano with Ron Levy, and Jerry Sheitelman. Additionally he plays guitar, saxophone, and drumset. He has been named an “Emerging Composer” in both the 2011 and 2012 Tribeca New Music Young Composer Competition and received 2nd place in the 2011 Pikes Peak Young Composer Competition. His The Plain of Six Glaciers was premiered in 2010 by the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert conducting, and other works have been performed by the Juilliard Pre-College Piano Forum, the Second Avenue Dance Company, and at the New York Chamber Music Festival. His BMI award-winning work has been read by both the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra and the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony.

Daniel Temkin

BMI award-winning work: Butterflies and Dragons for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion

Daniel Temkin was born in 1986 in Houston, Texas. He has received a B.M. in percussion from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, a M.M. in composition from the New England Conservatory, and is currently pursuing a Artist’s Diploma in composition from the Curtis Institute of Music. His composition teachers include Jennifer Higdon, Michael Gandolfi, Charles Fussell, Kevin Puts, Robert Aldridge, and Sydney Hodkinson. Temkin has studied percussion with She-e Wu and Chris Deviney. Temkin’s honors include the 2010 Earshot Readings with Nashville Symphony, the 2010 Buffalo Philharmonic Composers Forum, the 2010 NEC Honors Ensemble Composition Prize, among many more. His works have been performed by such groups as the Nashville Symphony, Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, Lyra Society for Harp, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, the Rutgers University Choir, and pianist Qing Jiang, among others. Temkin’s BMI award-winning work was premiered at the Melos Music 2nd Annual Concert with members of Nonsemble 6 in San Francisco in August, 2011 and performed again in April, 2012 at the Field Concert Hall in Philadelphia.

Roger Zare

BMI award-winning work: Bennu’s Fire for solo clarinet and symphonic band

Roger Zare was born in 1985 in Sarasota, Florida and currently resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received a B.M. from the University of Southern California, a M.M. from the Peabody Conservatory, and is now pursuing a D.M.A. at the University of Michigan. His teachers include Kristin Kuster, Bright Sheng, Paul Schoenfield, Michael Daugherty, Derek Bermel, David Smooke, Christopher Theofanidis, Morten Lauridsen, Fredrick Lesemann, Tamar Diesendruck, and Donald Crockett. A previous BMI Student Composer Award-winner in 2007 and 2009, Zare will serve as the 2012 Composer in Residence at the Salt Bay Chamber Music Festival . Other honors include the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2010, the 2012 Symphony in C Young Composers Competition, the New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, and the American Composers Orchestra Underwood Commission in 2008. Zare’s works have been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Ars Nova Dallas, FiveOne New Music Ensemble, Belvedere Chamber Music Festival, and many others. His BMI award-winning work was premiered by clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein and the California State University at Northridge Wind Ensemble in August, 2011and repeated at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest 2011 in Los Angeles.

May 12th Performers:

Emily West (www.emilywestmusic.com)

k.s. Rhoads (www.ksrhoads.com)

Jason Eskridge (iammusicheadquarters.com/je)

Julie Lee (www.julielee.org)

For more information, visit musicianscornernashville.com)

BMI’s Doreen Ringer Ross, VP Film & TV Music, along with composers Blake Neely, Cliff Martinez, Thomas Newman, John Powell, and Alex Wurman; and other industry executives including, Robert Messinger, Adam Smalley and Scott Johnson will serve as this year’s Creative Advisors.

Enrollment for this event is $125. Click here for more information and to register.

1. The Citi spot doesn’t last long enough to feature the chorus of “Into the Wild,” but the whistle-refrain is such a signature to that song. Was that planned?
It’s funny to have people commenting so much on my whistling as of late. I’m not one of those people singing in my house all day long—I whistle more. We were writing “Into the Wild” and the producer was messing around with the track. I was sitting on the couch behind there, whistling along to the track with my ukulele, going [whistles melody], and they turned around with this look on their face. I was like, “What? What is it?” And they were like, “Get in there! Put it down!” It was one of the first things I did.

2. Do you tend to whistle melodies when writing?
You don’t think about lyrics when you’re whistling. I would mess around sometimes and whistle long things, but I never kept it. This time it just seemed like the right thing. When I write I don’t ever play anything without having a recorder on because I constantly have melodies; I just do them off the top of my head. They’re like snowflakes or something [laughs]. I never do it the same way again unless I record it. I’ve spent quite a few bummer of a session chasing after it, the producer going, “What was the thing you did?”

3. Was a sense for melody the biggest thing you extracted from all the co-writing sessions? What’s most important to a song?
Nothing went to waste. I feel like I’ve gotten better at trimming the fat—I learned what was the meat of the song. For me it’s melody. I mean you've got to have a very strong concept, too. I’ve painted myself into a corner where I’ve got a melody and I’m like, “Ugh! I cannot get this lyric.” It’s just not there. My favorite thing that ever happens is: I’m singing a melody and a lyric pops out and then I immediately feel like that’s the concept, and everything works out. I was able to get a better bearing on melodies that really work, and are memorable.

4. You used to play out a lot, before working so exclusively as a songwriter. Where does that inform your style or approach these days when writing?
That kind of stuff just got me better at my instrument, and my main instrument is my voice. My writing jumps off from my vocal ability: That’s my unique thing to give. I feel like I can sing anything in my head, and I go there in my writing. I write on guitar, my ukulele, or I write to tracks, but it all comes down to where I go with my voice in the end.

When I started writing for other people I explored these different genres. I started writing urban and dance music, writing these tracks and singing melodies in autotune. And autotune is amazing when you discover it as far as the different notes that come out, out of the scale—tones and stuff. That was really fun: taking a break from being a rock-centric person, because I want to be a scholar of music. I’m always studying and trying to learn from it. I aspire to make it my living so I want to learn as much as I can. I think you have to, if this is what you want to do.

5. You’ve commented before that you’d like to keep writing for others even as your career as an artist develops. How’s that been going?
I definitely want to keep writing for other people. I would get bored if I just wrote for myself. I have a lot of stores, a lot of back-reserves of songs that are being cut right now. You never know. I wrote a song four years ago that’s actually going on Joe Walsh’s new record.

6. Are any of the songs from your debut album part of that stock-reserve?
Every single song that’s going on the record—I started them all around February 2011. They all come from the past year. I did this Roy Orbison song with [songwriter] Billy Steinberg and it opened a door in my head of what I wanted to do: a feeling in the music, really organic-sounding but with big hooks. Roy Orbison, his songs are not orthodox. Some of them are quite strange, but they’re memorable and they last. Every songwriter wants songs that last or feel timeless. It set me off on this tear, just the sound. I don’t know how it happened. I try not to question the muse too much. It just felt like these were not sitting-around songs, for sure.

7. Why did you choose BMI?
The artist relations. I felt like my friends there got a lot of sessions, and the people at BMI were really thinking about them and who they would fit well with. I like that; it’s always good to have other pools of writers and people that are thinking about what would be great co-writes, because you just never know. PJ Bianco, the guy I wrote and produced “Into the Wild” with, he and I would be such an unlikely pair. “Into the Wild” seems so out of the ordinary for the two of us to come up with; it’s kind of what I do, but PJ took it to such a beautiful place. Since then we’ve done a bunch of other songs together, “Tokyo Sunrise,” among others. We just have something. There’s something that goes down when you get in a studio, and you’re always looking for that. I really like Barbara Cane too. I think she’s like a legendary, cool, old-school kind of music person—I like that.

8. Which albums or artists are most near-and-dear to you?
I would say Jeff Buckley. It’s interesting how connected his life is to his dad’s, even though they weren’t connected at all. I think Grace will go on forever. Nevermind—Nirvana was a big deal for me because it was so dark and profoundly individual—what [Kurt Cobain] was doing. At its base level it was pop music, but the melodies were so dark and somewhat twisted sometimes, and interesting. Radiohead’s The Bends is an example of that too; these massive pop songs, but so deep. It doesn’t have to be a chirpy little ditty. That’s kind of what’s cool about music today, is we have a real indie thing going on but a lot of these indie-style bands are at the top of the charts. I feel like pop encompasses a broader spectrum now than it used to, and it’s exciting. And probably The Joshua Tree. I would also say Led Zeppelin; that’s a big one for me. It brings my rock, high-edge to stuff: Led Zeppelin I and II.

9. Do you have a favorite venue?
I love the Bowery Ballroom. That’s my favorite venue. I saw the Strokes and the White Stripes and it was so fun to see that; you can be right up against the stage. In L.A., I think the El Rey is pretty cool. The Wiltern is nice too. I haven’t played very many venues here in L.A.

10. Will that change once the album is done?
I’m excited to get the record done, and tour it; my thing is certainly a live thing. It’s 80% done. I’m still bringing in a few last-minute tunes and I’m starting to really record. We just finished the studio version of “Into the Wild” and it sounds amazing. We’re shooting for September, so I’m really in panic-mode. But at the same time, whatever happens, happens—it’s just like that commercial. I was so surprised that this went this big. I thought it would be a little blip on the screen.

Open to the public; admission is always FREE!
Performances by:

Skyler (www.sonicbids.com/skylertunes)

Holly Winter (www.hollywintermusic.com)

Swear and Shake (swearandshake.com)

BMI Acoustic Lounge NYC is an ongoing non genre-specific showcase featuring exciting up and coming songwriter/artists. If you are interested in playing at one of our showcases, you can submit music to Jake (jsimon@bmi.com) for consideration. Subject Line should include: BMI Acoustic Lounge NYC.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE REVIEWED AND A REPLY WILL ONLY BE SENT TO THOSE BEING CONSIDERED. A MAXIMUM OF THREE ACTS WILL BE CHOSEN PER DATE. PLEASE BE SURE YOUR SUBMISSION CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES THAT IT WOULD WORK IN AN ACOUSTIC SETTING. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.