VOL. 23, NO. 9	NOVEMBER 14, 1997

David Zinman

avid Zinman, music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, is the winner of the 1997 Ditson Conductor's Award for the advancement of American music, presented annually by Columbia.

  The award, which is the oldest award honoring conductors for their support of American music, was presented Nov. 8 at a Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) concert at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. The Ditson Conductor's Award was established in 1945 by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia. Past recipients include Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stowkowski.

  Zinman is one of America's most admired conductors, both for his success in building the artistic level and national reputation of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and for his highly-praised guest performances with orchestras in Europe and North America.

  Columbia Professor of Music George Edwards, the Secretary of the Ditson Fund Advisory Committee, presented the 53rd annual award and the $1,000 prize to Zinman. He read a citation from President George Rupp that praises Zinman for his "extraordinarily broad repertoire, elegant and masterful performances and recordings, and innovative concert formats" and for creating "new standards in performances of well-known compositions by Ives, Copland and Barber." In addition, Zinman was cited for having played "a crucial role in bringing many of America's finest younger composers into national and international prominence."