New York, NY, September 23, 2004: Film and television composer,
orchestrator, keyboardist and record producer, James Newton Howard has been
elected a Director by the Board of Directors of the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), it was announced today by ASCAP
President and Chairman Marilyn Bergman. Mr. Howard will complete the term
of Oscar-winning composer Elmer Bernstein who passed away last month.



"James brings a wealth of composing experience to the ASCAP Board, from
early immersion in classical music, success in writing, arranging and
performing pop music to a 30 year string of exceptional, award winning film
and television scores," said Marilyn Bergman. "He will provide very
valuable insight into the music world of today and tomorrow to the benefit
of all ASCAP members."



James Newton Howard has more than 70 films to his credit, including Michael
Mann's Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, M. Night Shyamalan's
The Village, Unbreakable, and Signs, Disney's CG animated Dinosaur,
Atlantis: The Lost Continent and Treasure Planet, as well as Snow Falling
On Cedars, Runaway Bride, and The Sixth Sense, which was one of the top ten
grossing films of all time.



In addition to his five Oscar nominations, including three for Best
Original Score—The Fugitive, The Prince Of Tides and My Best Friend's
Wedding, James Newton Howard has been rewarded for his diversity with
numerous Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations. In 2000, he was
honored with ASCAP's prestigious Henry Mancini Award.



The song "Look What Love Has Done" from 1994's Junior earned him the Oscar
and Golden Globe nominations for Best Song. His theme to Dying Young,
performed by Kenny G. garnered a Grammy nomination, and the song "For The
First Time" from the film One Fine Day earned him nominations for both
Academy and Golden Globe Awards. Among his Emmy nominations is the
groundbreaking theme from the acclaimed television series "E.R."



His other wide-ranging credits include A Perfect Murder, Glengarry Glen
Ross, Space Jam, Restoration, Waterworld, Wyatt Earp, Grand Canyon, Junior
and Pretty Woman.
His upcoming projects, due for release in 2005, include Batman Begins and
The Interpreter.
After joining Elton John's band in 1975 as a keyboardist, Howard has
maintained a long musical collaboration with the legendary rock artist as
an arranger and performer, including joining John on his recent tour.



Having become one of the most sought-after musicians in the industry, he
has racked up a string of collaborations in the studio with some of pop's
biggest names including Earth Wind and Fire, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Barbra
Streisand, Toto, Glenn Frey, Olivia Newton-John, Randy Newman, Rickie Lee
Jones, Cher and Chaka Khan.



"Music for film and television is an essential element of the ASCAP
repertory and James Newton Howard will clearly reinforce that importance,"
added Bergman.



2004 marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of ASCAP. As the world's
largest Performing Rights Organization, ASCAP has over 190,000 composer,
lyricist and music publisher members representing all genres of music.
ASCAP is committed to protecting the rights of its members by licensing and
collecting royalties for the public performance of their copyrighted works,
and then distributing these fees to the Society's members based on
performances. ASCAP's Board of Directors is made up solely of writers and
publishers, elected by the membership every two years.