Innova Recordings is the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

of the non-profit

American Composers Forum The American Composers Forum is an American organization that works for the promotion and assistance of American composers and contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minnes ...

based in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minnesota (now American) Composers Forum. During its early years, it produced several sampler LPs featuring the work of Minnesota composers, many of whom have since gone on to national prominence, such as Eric Stokes,

Ann Millikan Ann E. Millikan (born June 10, 1963) is an American composer. Life and career Ann Millikan was born in San Diego County, California. She studied music at San José State University, where she graduated with a BA. She went on to graduate with a MFA ...

, Libby Larsen,

Paul Schoenfield Paul Schoenfield, also spelled Paul Schoenfeld, is a classical composer. He is known for combining popular, folk, and classical music forms. Schoenfield was born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He began to take piano lessons at the age of six, ...

, and Stephen Paulus. With the advent of the compact disc, Innova began releasing highlights from the top ensembles, such as the

Dale Warland Singers The Dale Warland Singers (DWS) was a 40-voice professional chorus based in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded in 1972 by Dale Warland and disbanded in 2004. They performed a wide variety of choral repertoire but specialized in 20th-century music and ...

, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Alexander String Quartet, that had been on the Composers Forum concert seasons. The label produces between 25 and 40 CDs and DVDs per year. There are currently over 460 titles in the catalog covering the fields of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

, electronic,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and world music. It is best known for its series of releases featuring

Harry Partch Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...

and

Henry Brant Henry Dreyfuss Brant (September 15, 1913 – April 26, 2008) was a Canadian-born American composer. An expert orchestrator with a flair for experimentation, many of Brant's works featured spatialization techniques. Biography Brant was born i ...

. The label was awarded an endowment by the McKnight Foundation.

Notable accolades

*Laurel Leaf Award from the American Composers Alliance (2012) *ASCAP Deems Taylor Award (1998) for ''Enclosure Three: Harry Partch'' *Grammy Nominations: David Frost (2003), Stuart Hyatt, (2005), Orlando Jacinto Garcia (2010) *''Stereophile'': 80 Must-Have Recordings (2007), for ''Delusion of the Fury, Harry Partch'' *Grants from the New York State Music Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts. *Million-dollar endowment by the McKnight Foundation

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Record labels established in 1982 American independent record labels Independent record labels based in Minnesota Classical music record labels Experimental music record labels Electronic music record labels Jazz record labels World music record labels 1982 establishments in Minnesota

Notable accolades

See also

References

External links