ASCAP Foundation Names Winners for 2025 Young Composers Awards 

This year’s edition has announced 16 winners from around the US

The ASCAP Foundation's Morton Gould Young Composer Awards support talented emerging creators of concert music aged between 13 and 30. The program is named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Morton Gould.

This year’s recipients were selected by their works submitted for a juried national competition. Cash prizes are also offered as part of the award. 

Winners of the 2025 ASCAP Young Composer Awards are:

• Corey Chang | Bloomington, IN, (Woodbridge, CT);
• Kai Kubota-Enright | Los Angeles, CA, (British Columbia, Canada)
• GianCarlo Lay | Tempe, AZ, (Dallas, TX)
• Grace Ann Lee | Ann Arbor, MI, (Seoul, South Korea)
• Emily Liushen | New York, NY, (Louisville, KY); 
• Quinn Mason | Dallas, TX
• Paul Novak | Chicago, IL, (Reno, NV)
• Nathaniel Parks | Baltimore, MD, (Greensboro, NC)
• Jaebong Rho | New Haven, CT, (Busan, South Korea)
• Cyrano Rosentrater | Pennsylvania
• Alex Tedrow | Washington, DC, (Shoals, IN)
• Isaac Thomas | Florida
• Max Vinetz | Brooklyn, NY, (San Diego, CA)
• Brady Wolff | Bloomington, IN, (Lee's Summit, MO)
• Yiqi Xue | New York, NY, (Hangzhou, China)
• Jihwan Yoon | Woodside, NY, (Seoul, South Korea)

Honorable Mentions went to Jake Berran of Houston, TX (Minneapolis, MN); Avi Beskrowni of TX; Max Chung of Boston, MA; Elizabeth Gartman of New York, NY (Sheboygan, WI); Yingting Liu of Kansas City, MO (Hunan, China); Lila Meretzky of New York, NY; and Phoebe Pylant of NC. Additionally, Max Vinetz was recognized by the panel with the 2025 Leo Kaplan Award.

The Awards jury comprised composers Henry Dorn, Daniel Felsenfeld, Vivian Fung, Shawn Okpebholo, Robert Paterson, and Ania Vu.

Previous ASCAP Young Composer Award recipients include the GRAMMY-winning composer, pianist and singer-songwriter Emily Bear and Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Michael Abels, Jennifer Higdon, David Lang, Melinda Wagner, and Julia Wolfe.

“These young composers embody the very best of the next generation in concert music,” said ASCAP Foundation President Paul Williams. “This recognition reflects their remarkable talent, vision and dedication to the craft. We look forward to seeing their musical storytelling flourish in the years ahead.”

“The ASCAP Foundation is committed to supporting emerging music creators through opportunities like this,” added ASCAP Foundation Executive Director Nicole George-Middleton. “We’re deeply grateful to the judges and funding partners whose support brings these programs to life.”