Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Anthony Braxton’s evolving compositional systems have shaped generations of improvisers and experimental composers.
(Photo: Courtesy MacDowell)Composer and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton will be honored with the 66th Edward MacDowell Medal in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to composition, improvisation, pedagogy and experimental music.
Presented annually since 1960, the Medal honors artists whose work has profoundly shaped their fields and influenced generations of creators. Past recipients include Leonard Bernstein, Joan Didion, Nan Goldin, Toni Morrison and David Lynch.
Founded in 1907, MacDowell provides artists with time and space to develop new work across disciplines. Past MacDowell fellows have created some of the most influential works in American music and culture, including compositions by Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, as well as works by artists such as Bright Sheng and Virgil Thomson. MacDowell Fellows have collectively received over 100 Pulitzer Prizes, dozens of Tony, Grammy and Academy awards and more than 1,000 Guggenheim Fellowships.
Braxton will be honored during Medal Day on June 28 at MacDowell’s historic campus in Peterborough, New Hampshire, with a free public celebration featuring performances of his music and open studios with artists currently in residence.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in experimental music of the past half century, Braxton has developed a vast body of work spanning solo performance, ensemble music, opera and large-scale conceptual projects such as the Sonic Genome Project. Drawing on influences from John Coltrane to Karlheinz Stockhausen, his evolving compositional systems — including Ghost Trance Music and Diamond Curtain Wall Music — have shaped generations of improvisers and experimental composers. His honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship and designation as an NEA Jazz Master.
Medal Day festivities will take place throughout the week leading up to the ceremony, including additional public programs and MacDowell’s annual Medal Day Benefit. For more information, CLICK HERE. DB
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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