May 28, 2026

BMI Congratulates its 74th Annual BMI Composer Award Winners

BMI and the BMI Foundation were excited to announce the recipients of the 74th Annual BMI Composer Awards on May 27 at Joe’s Pub in New York City. The awards, which celebrate excellence in composition, were presented to seven emerging composers by BMI Foundation President and BMI AVP Creative, Classical & Jazz Deirdre Chadwick, BMI Chief Executive Officer, Mike O’Neill, and BMI Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue and Creative Officer Michael Steinberg...

The BMI Composer Awards recognize superior ability in music composition with annual awards totaling over $30,000. This year, nearly 650 applications were submitted to the competition from young composers around the world, and all works were judged anonymously. Preliminary judges for the 2026 awards included composers Jennifer Jolley, Daniel Temkin, and Alyssa Weinberg; final judges were Katherine Balch, Richard Carrick, and Elena Ruehr. BMI, in collaboration with the BMI Foundation, has awarded over 600 grants to young composers throughout the history of the competition.

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