Notable

For the ninth consecutive year, Cornell composer and professor of music Roberto Sierra has received an American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) Award, this time for 2002-03. "It makes me very proud -- it's recognition for what I have done as a composer for both quality and output," said Sierra, who joined the Cornell music faculty in 1992. Many of Sierra's works are regularly performed by major orchestras in the United States and abroad. The composer recently returned from the Sept. 18 premiere of his Concerto for Guitar, with the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami, Fla. He currently is working on several commissions, including: a double concerto for violin and viola, a dual commission from the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia orchestras; a piece for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota; a chamber work for the Library of Congress chamber series in Washington, D.C.; and a concerto for saxophone for the Detroit Symphony. ASCAP, based in New York, represents 35,000 members in numerous countries and distributes royalties to its writer-members. It presents annual awards to artists who demonstrate exceptional work. The awards are based on the quality of each writer's catalog of original compositions.