Piorkowski honored for 10th straight year by composition society

For the 10^th year in a row, James Piorkowski, professor of Music at the SUNY Fredonia School of Music, has received the ASCAPLUS Award, a formal citation issued by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to recognize composers whose works are performed in public or non-commercial venues.

Piorkowski said he is grateful to receive the ASCAP once again. A composer’s initial goal, he explained, is to write music that he or she finds pleasing. But it’s especially rewarding when this music is published and then actually performed by other artists.

“All that ties into the recognition that your work is not just pleasing in a selfish manner, but that it communicates to other people, especially if somebody takes the time to learn the music and interpret it,” Piorkowski said. “I’m really still honored by that. It never grows old,” he said of receiving the award.

Piorkowski, whose primary body of work is solo guitar, had compositions performed at guitar festivals held in a wide range of countries during the 2008-2009 award cycle, including Slovenia, Italy and the United States. His catalogue also includes music written for guitar and flute, guitar and cello, guitar and voice, guitar and choir, and guitar and symphony orchestra.

ASCAPLUS Award recipients are not compensated for performances of their music which are typically given in venues not tracked by ASCAP. They receive a congratulatory letter from ASCAP and a cash award, based on how often their music is played and the type of venue where it is performed, as a royalty payment. ASCAP is a performing rights organization that represents 360,000 composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers in the United States.

A past recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Robert W. Kasling Award for Scholarly and Creative Excellence, and William T. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award, Piorkowski has directed the Guitar Studies program at SUNY Fredonia since 1983.