Oliver Knussen has been awarded Northwestern University’s biennial $100,000 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Musical Composition. “Knussen was praised by the anonymous, three-member selection committee for his ‘uniquely focused, vibrantly varied music and his total embrace—as a profoundly influential composer, conductor, and educator—of today’s musical culture.’ One of Knussen’s works will be performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the 2007-08 season; he will also visit Chicago for a residency at Northwestern’s School of Music.”