{"id":58445,"date":"2017-04-06T10:32:12","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T20:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=58445"},"modified":"2021-06-01T12:11:44","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T22:11:44","slug":"foumai-young-composers-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2017\/04\/06\/foumai-young-composers-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael-Thomas Foumai wins national young composers award"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>
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Michael-Thomas Foumai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michael-Thomas Foumai<\/a><\/strong>, a lecturer in the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> Mānoa Department of Music<\/a>, has won a 2017 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation (ASCAP<\/abbr><\/a>) young composer award that encourages talented young creators of concert music. Foumai’s award-winning 25-minute long composition—featuring a flute, cello and piano—is titled “Manookian Murals.” It was first performed in December 2016 by the Dolce Suono Ensemble in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Past winners of the Morton Gould Young Composer Award, the country’s most prestigious and visible award for young composers from ASCAP<\/abbr> (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), include Pulitzer-Prize winning composers Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Jay Kernis and Kevin Puts.<\/p>\n

Hawaiʻi<\/span>-born Foumai, 29, attended Kawānanakoa Middle School and Roosevelt High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree from 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/a> and master and doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan. He returned to Oʻahu<\/span> in 2015 to become a lecturer at the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Department of Music, which is part of the College of Arts and Humanities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“From a very young age I’ve always had a fascination with music and pictures, and constructing images with music. This comes from my love of movie scores, especially from the Star War<\/em> films,” said Foumai. “Many of the composers who have won this award have gone on to have exceptional careers, so I was thrilled to be notified of my selection by Cia Toscanini, ASCAP<\/abbr> vice\u00a0president of concert music, especially since there were a record number of applications this year.”<\/p>\n

Inspired by Arman Manookian<\/h2>\n

“Manookian Murals” was inspired after Foumai met with a prospective 糖心视频<\/abbr> Foundation donor who is a collector and aficionado of the works of Arman Manookian, an Armenian-American painter who is best known for his works depicting Hawaiian scenes.<\/p>\n

“Manookian’s work had an immediate impact that touched upon all my senses,” said Foumai. “One could see, hear\u00a0and nearly smell and taste the ancient Hawaiʻi<\/span> that he envisioned.”<\/p>\n

For more information on Foumai and “Manookian Murals,” and to hear a snippet of the composition, visit the “Manookian Murals” website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We are so proud of Michael being one of the recipients of this prestigious award,” said Lawrence Paxton, chair of the Department of Music. “He highlights the vitality of our faculty and the uniqueness of our nationally respected Music Department and its innovative programs.”<\/p>\n

Added ASCAP<\/abbr> Foundation President Paul Williams, “Nurturing young talent is an essential part of The ASCAP<\/abbr> Foundation’s mission. We congratulate these gifted young composters ranging in age from 15 to 30 and thank our dedicated panel of ASCAP<\/abbr> members who selected composers from approximately 550 submissions.”<\/p>\n

For more information on donating to the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Department of Music, email SaraLyn Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foumai awarded the 2017 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Foundation young composer award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[113,598,133,9],"class_list":["post-58445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-college-of-arts-and-humanities","tag-faculty-recognition","tag-music","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t