Press Release
For Immediate Release
Seeking Nominations: 2018 New Mexico Platinum Music Awards Honoring New Mexico’s Music Legends’ Lifetime Achievements
Nominations Are Now Officially Open for the 2018 Platinum Music Awards Honoring New Mexico Music Legends
Santa Fe, N.M. – February 1, 2018 – The New Mexico Music Commission Foundation (NMMCF) will present the second annual Platinum Music Awards (PMA) ceremony and show on August 30, 2018, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe. At this gala event, six of New Mexico’s music legends will receive the Platinum Music Award for lifetime achievement. The honorees will accept their awards in person and receive tributes by some of the state’s top musical talent at this event. Proceeds of the 2018 Platinum Music Awards ceremony and show will benefit the Music Commission’s Music Education initiatives, most notably its Music in the Schools and ART2ART projects.
New Mexico residents are invited to nominate musicians, bands, music teachers, producers and any person or organization based in the state that have contributed significantly to our musical culture. The nomination form and instructions can be downloaded from www.newmexicomusic.org. Nominations are accepted between February 1 and March 15 and will be reviewed by a jury of music industry experts chosen by the New Mexico Music Commission. The honorees will be announced April 19.
The nomination and selection process is managed by the Music Commission and the award ceremony and show, scheduled for August 30, is produced by the Music Commission Foundation, its partner organization. “Last July the NMMCF produced the inaugural Platinum Music Awards event and it was a resounding success. To begin the evening, six honorees were feted at an exclusive awards presentation followed by the PMA show which featured performances by several of our state’s top talent and oratory tributes by music industry colleagues,” stated Melissa Sanchez, commissioner for the New Mexico Music Commission. “We are again reaching out statewide to New Mexico residents for nominations from which the 2018 PMA honorees will be selected.”
In addition to the awards ceremony, sponsorship opportunities are available. “Sponsorship is a great opportunity for businesses, organizations and individuals to show support for New Mexico’s active and diverse music community,” said David Schwartz, president of the New Mexico Music Commission Foundation and producer of the Platinum Music Awards show. “This important event recognizes some of the people who have built New Mexico’s musical culture for decades, and the proceeds benefit the Music Commission’s Music Education initiatives.” Sponsorship levels between $500 and $10,000 are available with many benefits including advertising, promotional mention, and tickets to the show and its exclusive events.
Current 2018 PMA $3,500 Platinum Level sponsors include Cisneros Design, Hutton Broadcasting, Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, Brookdale Senior Living, Quezada Jacobs Allstate, and SunPower by Positive Energy Solar. A wide range of sponsors have also joined at the $1,500 Gold Circle including The Lensic Performing Arts Center, Los Alamos National Bank, Candyman Music, Lectrosonics, Daniel Quat Photography, and Graphic Sky Printing. $500 level sponsorships are also available.
“We applaud the efforts of the foundation in organizing this important and beneficial event. The 2017 show was amazing and 2018 promises to be even better,” said Michael Delello, deputy cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. “This is a fitting way for the foundation to galvanize the music community to provide support for Music Commission projects especially in music education.”
For more information on the Platinum Music Awards ceremony and show, please visit www.platinummusicawards.org.
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Contact: Stephanie Strahl, James Korenchen Public Relations, at (505) 797-6688 or sstrahl@jameskorenchen.com
About the New Mexico Music Commission
The New Mexico Music Commission is an advisory body made up of Governor-appointed volunteers who are specialists and leaders in the state’s diverse music industry. Their mission is to protect, promote, and preserve the musical traditions of New Mexico, to foster appreciation of the value of music, and to encourage the educational, creative and professional musical activities of the residents of New Mexico. The Commission is administratively attached to New Mexico Arts, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. In 2017, the New Mexico Music Commission adopted the Platinum Music Awards ceremony and show as their annual signature event and primary fund raiser, per their strategic plan, and charged their Foundation with production, media, and sponsorship of these events.
About the New Mexico Music Commission Foundation
The purpose of the foundation is to serve at the discretion of the Music Commission in two key areas: Development, by sponsoring fundraisers, seeking donors, sponsors, and benefactors, writing grants, and serving as a fiscal agent for the Music Commission; and, Volunteerism, by providing volunteer support to assist in the execution of Music Commission events and projects. Key Foundation projects include: Platinum Music Awards: The Music Commission has entrusted the Foundation with production, media, and sponsorship of the Platinum Music Awards ceremony and awards show. Music in the Schools: The Foundation has taken the lead on developing a pilot Visiting Artist program with the Santa Fe Public Schools on behalf of the Music Commission. Proceeds from the 2017 Platinum Awards show are used to partially fund the pilot, for which professional musicians are hired to deliver assemblies, master classes, clinics, sectionals, and lessons to SFPS music students. It is the hope of the Commission and Foundation that this pilot program will expand to other school districts around the state with the continued growth and success of the Platinum Music Awards ceremony and show.
About the Platinum Music Awards
“The Platinums” are an evolution of the New Mexico Music Commission’s Platinum Achievement Awards established in 2013 to celebrate the role that the music industry plays in the cultural life and economic success of New Mexico. Six Platinum Music Awards (PMA) are presented annually to living musicians and music supporters who have demonstrated lifetime achievement in their musical idiom or have made significant or distinguished contributions to music in New Mexico. A diverse and prestigious list of musicians and other outstanding individuals will be honored. The Platinum Awards will continue to evolve with the state’s ever-changing music industry so that the impact and relevance of the awards persist.