King Award

"The King Award is unique among those of other granting institutions," said Dr. Ronald A. Crutcher, who coordinated the Award and was until this month Director of the UT School of Music. "It recognizes a body of musical composition contributed to the field, rather than one specific composition written in a specific year."

The King Award, to be made every other year, was made possible by a bequest from the estate of the late Dr. William King Jordan of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, honoring his mother, Eddie Medora King Jordan, a lover of "serious" music who died in 1995. Jordan, a neural psychiatrist and the first neurology department head at University of Arkansas Medical Center, practiced in Little Rock and New York City.

"The King Award greatly enhances the profile of the School of Music's composition program," Crutcher said, and is a testament to the high level of academic and artistic excellence cultivated in the School. "Unquestionably, the generosity of benefactors such as Dr. Jordan has helped to keep the College and the School of Music at the forefront of fine arts programs in the country," Crutcher said.

"The award allows the School of Music to affirm in a meaningful and highly visible way its long-standing commitment to the composition and performance of contemporary art music," said Michael C. Tusa, the School's Acting Director. "It also affords us the opportunity to enrich the educational experience of our student composers and performers through contact with outstanding creative artists."