Innova Recordings

Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 as a way to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minnesota (now (American) Composers Forum. During the course of these early years it produced several sampler LPs featuring the works of a range of Minnesota composers, many of whom have since gone on to national prominence. These include Eric Stokes, Libby Larsen, Paul Schoenfield, and Stephen Paulus. With the advent of the compact disc, Innova began releasing selected highlights from the top ensembles — such as the Dale Warland Singers, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Alexander String Quartet — that had been on the Composers Forum concert seasons.

In 1994, Innova opened its doors to artists with a finished master tape wanting access to its established distribution network. Under this scheme, the Recording Assistance Program, Innova expanded its catalog considerably under this program, which is known as the Recording Assistance Program. The label now produces between twenty and twenty-five CDs and DVDs per year. There are currently over 200 titles in the catalog, ranging from new classical to, experimental, electronic, jazz, world, and no-genres. It is best known for its series of releases featuring Harry Partch and Henry Brant, as well as its activities introducing less established artists and composers to the larger music scene. For its services to artists, it was awarded an endowment by the McKnight Foundation to subsidize its ongoing activities.

Notable accolades

• ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, 1998, for "Enclosure Three: Harry Partch"
• Grammy Nominations: David Frost (2003), Stuart Hyatt (2005)
• Stereophile: 80 Must-Have Recordings (2007), for "Delusion of the Fury, Harry Partch"
• Major project grants from the New York State Music Fund , and the National Endowment for the Arts
• Million dollar endowment by the McKnight Foundation

Composers

• Michelle Kinney
• Jim Phillips
• Michael Kosch
• Paul Schoenfield
• Mary Ellen Childs
• L.B. Dunner
• Lloyd Ultan
• Art Campbell
• Dan Kallman
• Igor Grigoriev
• Eric Stokes
  * Mike Aubart
  * Tina Davidson
  * Carleton Macy
  * Janek Schaefer
  * Annie Gosfield
  * Philip Blackburn
  * Jeff Feddersen
  * Matthew Burtner
  * Viv Corringham
  Mark Eden
  * Robert Normandeau
• Scanner
  * Asmus Tietchens
  * SETI
  * Tu M'
  * Judson Fountain
  * Herbert Brun
  * Stuart Hyatt
  * Chris Strouth
  * George Cartwright
  * Janika Vandervelde
  * Ken Field
  * Greg Carr
• Tim Mungenast
  * Juan-Pablo Caceres
  Raven Chacon, Dary John Mizelle, William Anderson,
• Paul Hindemith,
• Robert Martin,
• Siegfried Matthus,
• George Crumb,
• James Brody,
• Dane Rudhyar
• Erik Satie
• OGOGO

Jonathan Dawe, Harry Partch
Henry Brant
William Bolcom
Aaron Kernis
Libby Larsen
John Harbison
Robert Paredes
Daniel Kingman
Sarah Peebles
Mike Croswell

David Dunn, Yehuda Yannay, Bill Banfield, Frank Zappa, Astor Piazzolla, Steve Heitzeg, Tim Ries, Matt Levy Elliott Schwartz, Rodney Oakes, Zhang Ying,

Kenneth Gaburo, Warren Burt, David Macbride, Erik Belgum, Djola Branner, Hans Sturm, Robert Macht, Frank Garvey, David Sherr, Luciano Berio, Eric Stokes, Paul Schoenfield,

Jon Deak, Peter Warren, Matt Samolis Lakota and Dakota songs and dances, Les Baxter, Henry Mancini, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Drasnin, Fred Ho, David Bindman, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Fred Ho, Dan Moses Schreier and Dan Hurlin David Rakowski, Charles Griffin, Tomas Svoboda,

Alex Shapiro, John Morton, Robert Evett, David Alpher, Elizabeth Brown, Robert Dick Gary Schocker, Marc Anderson, Amnon Wolman and Rita Dove, Dean Drummond, David Stock Steve Reich, Ben Johnston, Alexander Wagendristel, Mark Engebretson, Wolfgang Wagner, Tom Heasley Jim Hobbs, Stanislav Skrowaczewski, Mark Warhol, Mark Winges,

Barry Schrader
Anthony Braxton
Taylor Ho Bynum
Skip Heller, Jewish Music from the Camps: Schulhoff, Berlinski, Dauber; Sean Noonan, Tim Dahl, Royal Hartigan, Andrew Drury, Darrell Katz, Martin Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng, John Morrison, Andrew Violette, David Dzubay, Arthur Ferris,

Women in Experimental Music: Beth Custer, Mildred Couper, Yoko Ono, Eleanor Hovda, Johanna M. Beyer, Pauline Oliveros; Jerome Kitzke, Michael Torke, Kimmo Hakola, Matt Steckler, Douglas Ewart Gao Hong, Robert Carl, Samuel Pellman Sean Noonan,
Sun Ra, Kamran Ince, R. Stevie Moore Paul Austerlitz/Michael S. Harper, Dexter Morrill,

Joseph Schwanter, Gerald Chenoweth, Richard Wernick, Alan Hovhaness, Janice Giteck, Bill Rea, Bill Ryan, Shawn Persinger, Joe Klein/Bill Kleinsasser, Jeremy Beck, Judith Shatin, Victoria Jordanova, Andrew Durkin, Christopher Rouse, Steven Stucky, Kevin Puts, Steve Mackey, Carter Pann, Don Freund, George Tsontakis, Miles Davis, Morris Hayes,
Patrice Rushen, Evan Ziporyn, Gunther Schuller, Gerald Busby, Matthew Smith, Rene Ford, Phillip Johnston, Robert Moran,
Neil Rolnick, Carei Thomas, Michael Gandolfi, R Murray Schafer, Victor Zupanc, Scott Miller, Electropolis, John Belcher, Matt Steckler, Mark Engebretson,

Yoav Gal, Judy Dunaway, Jeremy Beck, Belinda Reynolds, Phillip Schroeder, Carol Barnett,

Teresa LeVelle, Savage Aural Hotbed, Alexandra Gardner, Ann Millikan, Virgil Moorefield,

Amanda Monaco, Kiku Collins

See also

• List of record labels

External links