BMI Foundation Honorees Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez Win Two GRAMMYs for Frozen
The BMI Foundation proudly congratulates Broadway composers Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, past recipients of the Foundation’s first annual Jerry Harrington Musical Theatre Awards, for their two GRAMMY wins at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, February 8, 2015. The Lopezes won Best Song Written for Visual Media and Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, as co-writers of “Let It Go” and other songs from the Disney Animation blockbuster Frozen.
In 2000, Robert and Kristen received early recognition as two of the first six winners of the BMI Foundation’s Jerry Harrington Awards for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Musical Theatre. Four awards totaling $2,600 are presented annually for the works judged “most outstanding” in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, a program that is widely regarded as the premiere training ground for emerging musical theater composers, lyricists, and librettists. Following this distinction, Kristen and Robert went on to marry and establish award-winning songwriting careers in theater, film, and television. Kristen was a staff writer for the Emmy-winning children’s show Wonder Pets! and has collaborated with her husband on music for major motion pictures, including Winnie the Pooh. Robert is the co-creator of the hit Broadway musicals Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon and one of only twelve people to have won an Emmy, Oscar, Tony, and GRAMMY Award.
Recipients of the First Annual BMI Foundation/Jerry Harrington Musical Theatre Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement are pictured here after receiving their certificates in July of 2000. (L-R): BMI’s Gary Roth; Larry Bortniker, Advanced Workshop Award; Kristen Anderson, First Year Workshop Award; Lenny Hort, Librettists Workshop Award; Robert Lopez, Advanced Workshop Award; Jeff Marx, Advanced Workshop Award; and BMI’s Jean Banks.
Photo: Gary Gershoff
The Foundation is also pleased to congratulate Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra on their GRAMMY win for Best Latin Jazz Album with The Offense of the Drum. O’Farrill, composer and Musical Director of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, founded the nonprofit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance in 2007 to promote and preserve the musical traditions of big band Latin jazz through comprehensive performance and educational programming. Afro Latin Jazz Alliance provides institutional support for the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and has been a BMI Foundation General Grant recipient since 2012.
Iconic film composer and one of the BMI Foundation’s most enduring supporters, John Williams, also took home a GRAMMY Award for Best Instrumental Composition with “The Book Thief.” Congratulations to Williams, The Lopezes, and Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra on their recent honors.
About the BMI Foundation:
The BMI Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to encourage the creation, performance, and study of American music. The Foundation’s programs include competitive scholarships for songwriters and composers, operating grants for nonprofit arts presenters, and support for innovative music education initiatives in schools and communities across the country. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation may be made on our website. For exclusive news and content, follow @bmifoundation on Twitter and like “BMI Foundation” on Facebook.