[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 89 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         TRIBUTE TO MORTON GOULD

                                 ______


                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 1995
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I wish to extend my congratulations to a 
great American, Morton Gould, who was recently honored with this year's 
Pulitzer Prize for music composition, adding yet another great honor to 
a career filled with achievement and distinction.
  Mr. Gould has been a musician since he was able to touch a piano. A 
child prodigy, he published his first composition at the age of 6, and 
by the age of 21 was conducting and arranging a weekly series of 
orchestra radio programs for the WOR Mutual Network. In a career that 
has spanned the greater part of this century, he has become famous for 
music which sings with a uniquely American voice; his compositions have 
integrated folk, blues, jazz, gospel, and other elements into music 
that both explores and elevates all aspects of American style.
  Appropriately, this composer of truly American works was honored with 
three commissions for the celebrations of the bicentennial of our 
Nation in 1976. These were his Symphony of Spirituals, American 
Ballads, and Something to Do.
  He has appeared with and conducted orchestras across the United 
States and the world, and his compositions have been played in 
countless concerts, danced by the finest ballet companies, sung in 
Broadway theaters, and most importantly, enjoyed by all.
  His skill as a musician is matched by his warmth and humor in person. 
His friends marvel at the way he can tell a story with the same grace 
with which he conducts an orchestra.
  His talents have been recognized long before his receipt of the 
Pulitzer Prize. The numerous awards he has received include a Grammy 
Award and 12 Grammy nominations, the 1983 Gold Baton Award presented by 
the American Symphony Orchestra League, and the 1985 Medal of Honor for 
Music from the National Arts Club. In 1986 he was elected to the 
American Academy of Arts and Letters and received the National Music 
Council's Golden Eagle Award, and in 1994, he received the prestigious 
Kennedy Center Honor for a lifetime of contributions to the performing 
arts. I am happy, but in no way surprised, that Morton Gould and his 
music have been honored again.


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