WENDY & LISA to Receive Honorary Shirley Walker Award

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will host its 29th annual Film & Television Music Awards on Wednesday, June 25th, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The invitation-only dinner and awards ceremony will pay special tribute toWendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, and honor composers of the top box office film music, the most performed television music and the top video game music of 2013.

Emmy Award-winning composing duo Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman (aka Wendy & Lisa) will be presented with the inaugural ASCAP Shirley Walker Award. The Shirley Walker Award honors those whose achievements have contributed to the diversity of film and television music. Shirley Walker, an ASCAP member, was the first prominent female film and TV composer. As the first female composer to get a solo score credit on a major Hollywood motion picture, she is remembered as a pioneer for women in the film industry.

"Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman are two of the finest composers working in film and TV music," said ASCAP Vice President of Film & TV/Visual Media Shawn LeMone. "Their music sets new standards for excellence, and their achievements have inspired a generation of female composers looking to follow their lead. I can think of no more deserving recipients of ASCAP's very first Shirley Walker Award."

Los Angeles-based Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman started their careers in one of the most successful rock bands of the '80s, Prince & The Revolution. They continued to work as a duo and released five original albums as well as pursuing a career path in scoring feature films and television. Since 1995's box office hit Dangerous Minds, Wendy & Lisa have set a successful track record scoring films such as Soul Food, Something New, television series Crossing Jordan, Nurse Jackie, Touch and the Emmy-nominated NBC series Heroes. In 2010, Wendy and Lisa received an Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for comedy series Nurse Jackie. They were also nominated in 2012 for their Main Title work on Touch. The duo has gone on to win numerous ASCAP Awards for Top TV Series (Heroes, Crossing Jordan and Carnivale) and Top Box Office Films (Dangerous Minds), and a 2006 Black Reel Award for Best Original Score for Something New. Apart from their composing career, Wendy & Lisa are often sought after for their songwriting and collaboration skills. They have collaborated on albums with Joni Mitchell, Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton, Neil Finn, Seal and Grace Jones, to name a few.

As was previously announced, ASCAP will also bestow its inaugural Composers' Choice Awards at the 29th annual ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards. For the first time in ASCAP awards show history, the performing rights organization opened up the voting process to all ASCAP writer members. During the voting process, which closed on May 31st, ASCAP writers could select a favorite ASCAP film score and TV composer of 2013 from the nominees in two categories. The winners of these inaugural awards will be announced during the ceremony. For more information on the ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards, clickhere..

Members of the press can apply for credentials here.

About ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With 500,000 members representing more than 9 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com

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