Songs of Hope to Honor Composer Stephen Schwartz

By Variety Staff

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The cancer research and treatment center  today announced that composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, whose credits include the musicals “Godspell,” “Pippin,” and “Wicked,” will receive the Warner/Chappell Music “Icon of Hope” Award at the 14th annual Songs of Hope event presented by Spotify to be held on Sept. 13. Warner/Chappell’s Chief Operating Officer Carianne Marshall and senior VP of Theatrical and Catalog Kurt Deutsch will present the award to Schwartz.

In a career that spans four decades, Schwartz is a multiple Grammy winner who also claims three Academy Awards. He has been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and Theater Hall of Fame, and was awarded the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for his commitment to fostering new talent and championing important causes.

The ceremony will take place on Sept. 13 at songwriter-producer Alex da Kid’s KIDinaKorner campus in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Last year’s event raised more than $400,000 for City of Hope.

Previously announced award presenters and recipients will include:

Clive Davis “Legend in Songwriting” Award, presented by Clive Davis to Benny Blanco (Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Maroon 5) and Mike Will Made-It (Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Miley Cyrus, Rae Sremmurd)

Martin Bandier “Vanguard” Award, presented by Marty Bandier to Sarah Aarons

Electronic Arts “Composer of the Year” Awardpresented by Steve Schnur to James Newton Howard

Songs of Hope Beverly and Ben Horowitz Legacy Award presented by Zach Horowitz to international expert in leukemia, lymphoma and bone marrow transplantation, Stephen J. Forman, M.D.,the Francis & Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope.

Universal Music Publishing Group, Spotify and Warner/Chappell Music will also present awards to honorees, with more information provided closer to the event.

For the 14th consecutive year, the event is co-chaired by David Renzer, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Spirit Music Group; Doug Davis, Founder/Principal of The Davis Firm; Evan Lamberg, President of Universal Music Publishing Group, North America; and Steve Schnur, President of Music, Electronic Arts.

To purchase tickets for Songs of Hope XIV, visit