The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...
. Founded in 1937 by
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...
,
Milton Adolphus,
Marion Bauer
Marion Eugénie Bauer (15 August 1882 – 9 August 1955) was an American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic. She played an active role in shaping American musical identity in the early half of the twentieth century.
As a composer, ...
and others, it is the oldest national organization of its kind, and represents over 200 member composers.
The organization is based in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. From 1951, ACA presented the
Laurel Leaf Award to individuals and organizations in recognition of "distinguished achievement in fostering and encouraging American music."
The American Composers Alliance publishes musical scores under the imprint American Composers Edition (ACE). From 2001 through 2013, ACA held an annual festival of American music presenting 6-8 concerts with more than 30 composers from across the country. Past festivals received favorable reviews from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''New Music Connoisseur''. In 2017, ACA celebrated its 80th anniversary.
Affiliation with American Composers Alliance (AC
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Composers seeking services from American Composers Alliance must be affiliated with
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) or ASCAP.
Any US citizen or US permanent resident may apply for membership. There are no stylistic requirements.
The composer must be writing
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...
, at a professional level.
The composer submits electronically a minimum of two recent scores, two recordings (live or studio), a complete list of works (with instrumentation, duration, and premiere performance info), along with a bio, resume, or curriculum vitae that contains performance information for the last three years. A committee from ACA’s Board of Governors reviews this material and then makes a recommendation to the full Board, which determines acceptance for works into the ACA Catalog. The process can take from 2 to 3 months.
If the composer's work is accepted into the ACA Catalog, an agreement, a Grant of Rights for the selected works, see
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
, is signed. This Agreement gives ACA administration and publishing rights. The Agreement may be terminated by the composer or by the ACA Board of Governors with reasonable notice. Control of copyright remains with the composer.
ACA Affiliated Composers as of 2019
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Adams, H. Leslie
*
Anderson, T. J.
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Auerbach-Brown, Christopher
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Austin, Elizabeth
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Awad, Emil
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Balazs, Frederic
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Bassett, Leslie
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Bauer, Ross
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Beerman, Burton
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Bell (Friou), Elizabeth
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Berenholtz, Jim
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Bevelander, Brian
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Bliss, Marilyn
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Block, Steven D.
*
Bottje, Will Gay
*
Boykan, Martin
Martin Boykan (April 12, 1931 – March 6, 2021) was an American composer known for his chamber music as well as music for larger ensembles.
Biography
Boykan was born in New York City. He studied composition first with Walter Piston at Harvard, ...
Brooks, Richard
*
Cameron-Wolfe, Richard
Richard Cameron-Wolfe is an American composer and pianist.
Early life and education
Cameron-Wolfe was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Indiana University School of Music with Joseph Battista and Menahem Pre ...
*
Carl, Robert
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Carlsen, Philip
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Chenoweth, Gerald
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Chow, Jun Yi
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Cohen, Fred
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Cory, Eleanor
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Costinescu, Gheorghe
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Davidson, Matthew de Lacey
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Dellaira, Michael
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Dillon, Lawrence
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Flaherty, Tom
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Froom, David
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Gibson, John Grant
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Gibson, Robert L.
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Gilbert, Janet
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Glinsky, Albert
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Gordon, David E.
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Greenbaum, Matthew
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Greenberg, Laura
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Gressel. Joel
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Hall, Gregory
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Hodkinson, Sydney
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Howe, Hubert
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Hutcheson, Jere
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Jacobs, Edward S.
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Jankowski, Loretta
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Jazwinski, Barbara
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Jones, David Evan
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Karchin, Louis S.
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Kim, Sunbin
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Kreiger, Arthur
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Kroeger, Karl
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Lennon, John Anthony
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Liptak, David
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Lipten, David
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Lovendusky, James
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Raymond Luedeke
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Lundborg, Erik
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McCandless, Richard
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McKinley, Dr. Elliott Miles
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McLoskey, Lansing
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Melby, John
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Meneely-Kyder, Sarah
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Miller, Scott L
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Moore, Dorothy Rudd
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Newell, Robert Max
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Nielson, Lewis J.
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Nowak, Alison
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Oliver, Harold
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Perlongo, Daniel
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Philo, Gary
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Pisk, Paul
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Rausch, Carlos
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Read, Thomas L.
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Rhodes, Phillip
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Rockmaker, Jody
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Rothkopf, Michael S.
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Sacco, Steven Christopher
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Sapp, Allen
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Schneider, Gary
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Schober, Brian
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Schwartz, Elliott
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Sherman, Elna
*Shields, Alice
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Shrude, Marilyn
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Shultis, Christopher L.
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Silsbee, Ann Loomis
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Slayton, Michael
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Sollberger, Harvey
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Stallcop, Glenn
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Suben, Joel Eric
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Suber, Stephen Carter
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Suskind, Joyce Hope
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Tacke, Daniel
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Taylor, Dean
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Thomas, Andrew William
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Thome, Mark (David)
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Thompson, Robert Scott
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Tillis, Frederick C.
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Tower, Joan
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Van Nostrand, Burr
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Vogel, Roger C.
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Welch, Matthew
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Wellman, Samuel
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Westergaard, Peter
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Wiemann, Beth
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Wilson, Donald M.
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Wuorinen, Charles
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Yttrehus, Rolv
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Zahler, Noel
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Ziolek, Eric
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Zuckerman, Mark
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Zupko, Ramon'American Composers Alliance'
See also
*
American Composers Forum
The American Composers Forum is an American organization that promotes and assists American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with activities ...
External links
*American Composers Alliance
*Apply for Administrative and Publishing Services through American Composers Edition
*Broadcast Music Incorporated
*ACA on Facebook
{{Authority control
1937 establishments in the United States
Classical music in the United States
Contemporary music organizations