NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2023 – Acclaimed music creators and rising stars are set to share the virtual stage at the upcoming 2023 ASCAP Foundation Honors on Sunday, December 17 at 7:00 pm EST on The ASCAP Foundation YouTube channel. Honoring the next generation of music creators, the showcase will feature performances from The ASCAP Foundation’s 2023 scholarship and award recipients and presentations from industry legends including Desmond Child, Paul Williams and more.
Highlights from The ASCAP Foundation Honors will include acclaimed songwriter Desmond Child honoring up-and-coming Latin songwriter Cristian Avila ahead of his performance of “Llegaste Tu,” a song he wrote during The ASCAP Foundation “The Latin Beat” Songwriter Program with his mentor Lena Burke. Later, Grammy-winning songwriter, producer and mentor for The Collective workshop Autumn Rowe will recognize workshop participants and Harold Adamson Lyric Award winners Maleah DAWN, Iman Nunez and DJ RellyRell. The trio will showcase their musical collaboration with a performance of “Wait,” a piece they wrote together during The Collective.
The broadcast will also showcase performances from Leonard Bernstein Award recipient Will Healy, who will receive his award from Bernstein’s daughter Jamie Bernstein and perform his composition “Prelude for Rrita;” and Peggy Lee Songwriter Award winner Paulina Jayne, who will accept her award from Lee’s granddaughter Holly Foster Wells and will share her song “Half.”
Additional performances sure to inspire include Louis Armstrong Scholarship at Queens College Scholarship recipient Javier Madrazo sharing his work “Samba de Pasion;” Jamie deRoy & Friends Award recipient Georgia Stitt serenading the audience with three of her original compositions; Harold Adamson Lyric Award for Country Music recipient Mark Taylor performing his work “Dust Off That Dirt” and Harold Adamson Songwriters Workshop participants and Lyric Award winners Reuben Antolin and Melanie Jo playing their song “Second Chances.”
As part of the celebratory program, The ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams will bestow the Sunlight of the Spirit Award upon Natalie Lewis Schere, whose organization PATH to Hip-Hop uses hip-hop to help tell the stories of those in recovery, and Patsy Bouressa, whose organization SIMS Foundation provides mental health and substance use recovery services for the music industry.
Individuals who would like to RSVP and/or purchase a donation-based ticket to the event to support the new generation of composers and songwriters can visit https://bit.ly/41kPWWs.
A complete list of 2023 ASCAP Foundation Scholarship and Award recipients can be found at
