Aaron Copland - Awards

Awards

• On September 14, 1964, Aaron Copland was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson.
• In honor of Copland's vast influence on American music, on December 15, 1970 he was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit. Beginning in 1964, this award "established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression."
• Copland was awarded the New York Music Critics’ Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize in composition for Appalachian Spring. His scores for Of Mice and Men (1939), Our Town (1940), and The North Star (1943) all received Academy Award nominations, while The Heiress won Best Music in 1950.
• He was a recipient of Yale University's Sanford Medal.
• In 1986, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
• He was awarded a special Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress in 1987.
• He was made an honorary member of the Alpha Epsilon chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 1961 and was awarded the fraternity's Charles E. Lutton Man of Music Award in 1970.