Composer Daniel McCarthy places in The American Prize competition

University of Akron music professor and composer Daniel McCarthy has achieved third place nationally in The American Prize in Orchestral Composition competition, 2013 - professional division for his work titled "Turn the Page" for orchestra and electric guitar solo.

McCarthy was selected from applications reviewed this spring from across the United States. The American Prize is a series of new, nonprofit competitions unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, ensembles and composers in the United States based on submitted recordings. The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts. Complete information is available on The American Prize website, including the complete list of winners for 2013.

McCarthy, who chairs the Composition and Theory Section in the School of Music, formerly held the Theodore Dreiser Distinguished Creative/Research Award at The Indiana State University School of Music where he was co-director of the ISU Contemporary Music Festival with The Louisville Orchestra. USA Today describes his music as "intriguing, inviting, shimmering..." while The Cleveland Plain Dealer has written that his music is "colorful, infectious and touching... ." 

The prolific composer has more than 30 recordings of his music on Albany, Centaur, d'Note Classics, Gasparo, and Klavier Records, and more than 100 publications of his his titles with C. Alan Publications.

Among judges' comments: "More than a show stopper, "Turn the Page" is a brilliantly orchestrated piece, smart, exciting, intricate, and sophisticated..."

Finalists for The American Prize receive professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition based on their recorded performances. In addition to written evaluations from judges, winners and runners-up are profiled on The American Prize website, where links will lead to winners' websites.

About The American Prize

The American Prize grew from the belief that a great deal of excellent music being made in this country goes unrecognized and unheralded all across the country: in schools and churches, in colleges and universities, and by community and professional musicians.

With the performing arts in America marginalized like never before, The American Prize seeks to fill the gap that leaves excellent artists and ensembles struggling for visibility and viability. The American Prize recognizes and rewards the best America produces, without bias against small city versus large, or unknown artist versus well-known.

In addition to composition awards, in 2013 The American Prize sponsors competitions for conductors, ensembles, vocalists and pianists.

The American Prize is administered by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit performing arts organization based in Danbury, Conn.

Media contact: Cyndee Snider, 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu.