a tempo winter2008
Beerman wins Governor’s Award for the Arts
Burton Beerman
Dr. Burton Beerman, award-winning composer and professor of composition in the college, has been chosen to receive a 2008 Governor’s Award for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council has announced. He and the other winners of this year’s awards will be honored at a luncheon in Columbus on April 16, hosted by the council and the Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation.
Beerman founded the University’s New Music & Art Festival and is the former director of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music. He is one of two individuals chosen for recognition in the individual artist category. Singer/songwriter Steve Free of McDermott also will be honored.
Beerman’s music, which often addresses social justice issues, spans many media, including chamber and orchestral music, music for documentary film, video art and performance, theatre, dance and interactive real-time electronics. His works have been recognized by more than 30 professional journals and publications, and his activities have been the subject of national and public television network broadcasts.
He was awarded the 2005 Barlow Endowment Commission, an international award designed to encourage and financially support individuals “who demonstrate technical skills and natural gifts for the composition of great music,” according to the endowment. Performances of his compositions have taken place at well-known venues throughout the world.