Citation of Merit - Past Winners

2023 John Holiday Countertenor, educator
2021 Betty Perry Performer, educator
2017 Brian Stokes Mitchell Performer, philanthropist
  Rob Kapilow Composer, performer, educator
2014 Jake Heggie Composer
  Audra McDonald Performer
  San Fran Opera Co  
2011 Craig Hella Johnson Conductor, arranger
2008 NAAM Int’l Music Products Association
  Opera Theater St Louis
  Tom Chapin Folk music artist
  Int’l Festival Institute – Round Top, TX
2003 Harvey Schmidt Composer of musical theater, pianist, graphic artist, freelance illustrator, innovator in theater workshop, experimental theater, musical revues, and classical music lover
2001 Bill Cormack Choral conductor, clinician, adjudicator, writer, administrator, consultant and passionate arts advocate
1998 Lloyd Pfautsch Composer, choral conductor, clinician, arranger, educator
  Henry Janiec Retired dean of School of Music at Converse College, retired director of Brevard Music Center
  John Frohnmayer Arts advocate
1995 Robert Sherman Critic, broadcaster, teacher
  Ellis Marsalis Jazz
  Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Soprano
1992 Maurice Abravanel Conductor
  Victor Borge Pianist
  Beverly Sills Opera
  Pinchas Zukerman Violin
1989 Ezra Laderman Composer, educator
  Ardis Krainik Chicago Lyric Opera
  William Warfield Vocalist
1986 Sarah Caldwell Operatic conductor
  Van Cliburn Pianist
  Aaron Copland Composer
  William Schumann Composer, educator
1983 Jester Hairston  
  Itzhak Perlman  
  Texaco Inc. 40 years live Metropolitan Opera broadcasts
1980 Richard Gaddes  
  Jascha Heifetz  
  Suzanne Weil Public Broadcasting System
1977 Arthur Fiedler Conductor Boston Pops
  Paul Fromm  
  William Grant Still  
1974 Arthur Rubinstein  
  Seiji Ozawa Conductor BSO, Vienna Opera
  Jack Benny  
  Oliver Daniel  
1972 Nadia Boulanger  
  Pierre Boulez  
  Robert Shaw  
1970 Pablo Casals  
  Eugene Ormandy  
  Guiomar Novaes  
  Marjorie Merriweather   
1968 Herman Newman  
  E. Thayer Gaston  
  Earl Vincent Moore  
  Paul Van Katwijk  
  AT&T (Bell Telephone Hour)  
  Claudette Sorel  
1966 The Ford Foundation  
  Rudolph Ganz  
  Leonard Bernstein  
  Harold Schönberg  
  Jacob Aushalomov  
1964 Howard Hanson  
  Archie N. Jones  
  Leopold Stokowski