Keith Davis, 6/3/2008
Songwriter Travis Knapp Garnered First-Place Honors in the 2008 John Lennon Scholarship Competition
ITHACA, NY— Songwriter and Clinton resident Travis Knapp, a 2007 graduate of Ithaca College, won first place and a $10,000 scholarship for his song, “Before You Go,” in the BMI Foundation’s 11th annual John Lennon Scholarship competition. Recognizing the best and brightest young songwriters between the ages of 15 and 24, the Lennon scholarships were established by Yoko Ono in conjunction with the BMI Foundation and matched by donations from Gibson Musical Instruments. Knapp received his award on stage in May at the BMI Pop Awards ceremony held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles.
“Receiving an award like this is a huge encouragement for me to keep writing music,” Knapp said. “I haven’t written a lot lately, but now I feel like some doors are surely opened, should I choose to step through them. Winning this award also means that I can confidently pursue further education in whatever way I’d like to, without worrying as much financially.”
Knapp graduated from Ithaca College’s School of Music in 2007 with a dual bachelor’s degree in music and anthropology. He cited his college experiences as key factors in winning the Lennon Scholarship from among thousands of other applicants. “I certainly wouldn’t have had the same confident approach to song writing if it hadn’t been for sight singing and jazz classes I took as an undergraduate,” Knapp said. “In fact, I’d say that every single course I took in the music school was a help to my songwriting. And beyond that, the anthropology courses I took got me thinking in important new ways.”
But the most significant influence, Knapp said, was singing with Ithacappella, a student-led men’s a cappella group at Ithaca College that has garnered several awards of its own, including winning the 2008 Mid-Atlantic International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella competition.
“As far as winning the Lennon Scholarship goes, Ithacappella was the greatest help and inspiration,” said Knapp. “For the last concert of my senior year, my friend Garrett Deming arranged ‘Before You Go’ for the group to perform. It went really well, and then we put it on a CD that Ithacappella recorded in the spring of 2007. That’s the version I sent to BMI, so I owe a ton of thanks to Garrett and to Ithacappella for giving the song that chance.”
The song, said Knapp, was inspired by “that feeling you get when you’ve walked away from someone, and the goodbye just wasn’t settled or complete. I tried to explore ‘leaving’ on every level, from death to separation to saying goodnight. There’s also an aspect that was inspired by my aunt, who really centers herself and takes you in, connects with you, before giving a hug. It’s so easy to just flutter about in the world, only halfway connecting with people.”
After graduating, Knapp took a two-month trip across the United States for a first-hand look at the country. He’s considering attending school in either massage therapy or energy healing school. “I’ll also keeping writing songs and playing piano, but I have no big music plans at this point,” he said. “If I could have a garden and a friendly, ecologically self-sustaining community to live in, where there are flowers and sunshine and tasty water, I would consider that the end of all plans. Or maybe the start of them.”
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) is an American performing right organization that represents more than 375,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. A not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985, the BMI Foundation supports the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants.
Originally published in News Releases: Ithaca College Graduate Takes First-Place Honors In The 2008 John Lennon Scholarship Competition.
