Dr. Lanier Sammons, a lecturer in the Music and Performing Arts Department, is the recipient of an ASCAP Plus Award in the concert music division.

The award is given by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and is based on the unique value of each composer’s catalog of original compositions as well as recent performances.

According to the organization, the grants support the growth and development of the nation’s musical future. The announcement was made in early October; the grant will be distributed in January.

Dr. Sammons, a composer and guitarist, teaches analogue mixing and digital editing as well as the MPA capstone class and master classes. His music explores ideas such as audience interactivity, improvisation, the intersection of popular and classical music, and the pairing of electronic and acoustic sound. As a performer, he explores multiple genres on electric guitar, classical guitar and other instruments.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

His research interests include composition and audience-interactive music, the relationship between play and composition, new music for the guitar, and the intersection and overlap between "popular" music and "art" music. This is his first semester at CSUMB. For more information, visit his website.

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