David Katz’s acclaimed one-man play about the man many considered America’s greatest (and most notorious) teacher of conducting, has been published by

DelGatto Press.

"What's on TAP" subscribers save $5 by using code

TAPMUSE5

at the ArtsForLess store on eBay:

Click: ARTS for LESS

The publication of MUSE of FIRE in this first edition is limited to just

one hundred signed, numbered copies. It commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Charles Bruck in Hancock, Maine,

July 16, 1995, and the 20th year since the play’s premiere,

on Bastille Day, July 14, 2005.

“...unique depth and humor...tremendous verve...and palpable passion." —Chicago Sun Times

“…a searing and unforgettable portrait of the man who shaped a generation of conductors who hear the music with their hearts..."

—Bangor Daily News

"FOUR STARS: Katz sticks it to his mentor.”

—Time Out (Chicago)

“…great stories, well told.” —Bar Harbor Times

***

When an old European maestro will stop at nothing to mold an apprentice in the flames of his passion for music, the young man discovers that great conductors are not born—they must be forged…in fire.

Cheered from Boston to Chicago and Baltimore to Halifax, and at scores of places in between, including at the Conductors Guild and CODA Conferences, David Katz’s MUSE of FIRE lifts the veil on the most mysterious of the performing arts—to reveal its secrets.

Professional conductor, composer, playwright and actor (“there’s a resume you don’t see every day”) David Katz conjures both Sorcerer and Apprentice in MUSE of FIRE, based on his own experiences studying with Maestro Charles Bruck, the man who ruled god-like over Maine’s internationally renowned Pierre Monteux School for more than a generation. Includes an extensive appreciation by the internationally renowned musician, pianist and conductor, Lorin Hollander, MUSE of FIRE was the last play directed by Tony Award-winning actor and Broadway director, Charles Nelson Reilly. A reminiscence about working with CNR is included in the volume.

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The American Prize contests now honor

IVES, ANDERSON, PUTSCHÉ

The American Prize contest renamed to honor Danbury, CT native, Charles Ives

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, based in Danbury, Connecticut, is honored to rename its contest in Chamber Music composition in honor of Danbury native, Charles Ives, whose sesquicentennial was celebrated worldwide in 2024.

Henceforth to be known as The American Prize CHARLES IVES AWARD in Chamber Music, the contest honors the composer’s extraordinary legacy, especially of song, while recognizing and rewarding the finest composers of chamber music in the U.S. in professional, college/university, high school and community divisions.

At left, Leonard Bernstein, at the Danbury Fairgrounds, July 4, 1974, there with Michael Tilson Thomas, the American Symphony and guest choirs, to conduct a concert in front of an estimated 7000, honoring Ives in commemoration of his 100th birthday, a concert in which a young David Katz sang.

https://www.theamericanprize.org/chambermusic.html

The American Prize contest renamed to honor Danbury, CT resident,

Marian Anderson

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, based in Danbury, Connecticut, is honored to rename its Social Justice award in memory of the internationally acclaimed contralto and longtime Danbury resident, Marian Anderson.

Henceforth to be known as The American Prize Marian Anderson Award in Social Justice, the award honors the extraordinary legacy of one of America’s greatest performing artists, while annually recognizing and rewarding The American Prize laureate who best exemplifies the singer’s courage and trailblazing fortitude as an artist of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. Visit any contest page of The American Prize, accessed via the COMPETITIONS button in the menu bar, to learn more.

At left, Friedrich & Virginia Schorr Prize laureate soprano, Awet Andemicael, performs in the Marian Anderson Studio on the campus of the Danbury Museum, in a concert sponsored by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., administrators of The American Prize.

The American Prize

Thomas Putsché Award in Composition,

Opera/Theater/MusicTheater/Film/Dance division

The American Prize THOMAS PUTSCHÉ AWARD in Composition (opera/theater/film/dance division), remembers the artistry of the American, Thomas Putsché (poo-shay), composer of the once celebrated, now nearly forgotten chamber opera, The Cat and the Moon, based on the play and poem by William Butler Yeats.

Written in 1957 and recorded by the Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago for CRI, The Cat and the Moon, was, in the words of David Katz, founder and chief judge of The American Prize, “a seminal discovery in my young life as a musician, displaying stunning craftsmanship and deep feeling, it seems now to epitomize the reasons I created The American Prize competitions—to bring recognition and reward to artists and to works that might otherwise go unheralded.

From David Katz: "It was my personal choice to rename this division of The American Prize in Composition in Tom Putsché’s memory, a man I had the honor to know at the Hartt School of the University of Hartford in the 1970s and whose opera remains fundamental in memory to this day.”

https://www.theamericanprize.org/operamusictheater.html

The American Prize 2025

INDEPENDENCE DAY HONORS

were announced July 4, 2025.

Follow this link to this year's announcement of honorees:

The American Prize Independence Day Honorees, 2025

Looking for RECENT WINNERS of The American Prize?

WINNERS 2024:

* Complete results for the 2024 season of contests are posted. Find links in the December 2024 issue of "What's on TAP," our e-newsletter: https://conta.cc/3ZyBtWL

WINNERS 2023:

* Complete results for the 2023 season of contests are posted. Find links in the December 2023 issue of "What's on TAP," our e-newsletter: https://conta.cc/3Rum5Gz

WINNERS 2022:

* Winner for all 2022 contests may be found here:

Visit: https://conta.cc/3TQPgTx, which takes you to an edition of 'What's on TAP," our e-newsletter, containing links to complete 2022 results.

WINNERS 2021 & 2020:

* See 2021 contest results here:

https://conta.cc/3b6kjqI

and for the 2020 season:

http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-american-prize-winning-links-all.html

Additional results may be found on our blog.

Read about our DISTINGUISHED JUDGES here:

https://www.theamericanprize.org/judges2014.html

and here:

https://www.theamericanprize.org/davidkatz.html

The American Prize

National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts

is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the musical and theater arts.

The American Prize is nonprofit, unique in scope and structure, and is designed to evaluate,

recognize and reward the best performers, composers, conductors, ensembles and directors

in the United States, based on submitted recordings.

There is no live competition. There are no age limits.

Founded in 2010 and now celebrating its fifteenth year, The American Prize has awarded

nearly $165,000 in prizes in all categories since its creation. Thousands of artists

representing all fifty states have derived benefit from their participation in the contests of

The American Prize.

David Volosin Katz is founder and chief judge of The American Prize.

The American Prize is administered by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit organization based in Danbury, CT.

www.theamericanprize.org

HCMT-The American Prize | theamericanprize@gmail.com | 25 Hamilton Drive, Suite 100, Danbury, CT | theamericanprize.org