Stephen Sondheim gets top honour in arts world: Edward MacDowell Medal for lifetime achievement

PETERBOROUGH, N.H. – Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is being awarded one of the top honours in the arts world: the Edward MacDowell Medal for lifetime achievement.

The award is being presented Sunday at the MacDowell Colony, the prestigious retreat for artists, writers and composers in Peterborough, N.H. This is the first time the medal has been awarded for achievement in musical theatre. Past recipients include Robert Frost and Georgia O’Keefe.

In a statement when the award was announced, Sondheim called the medal a “sort of homecoming,” noting that as a child he used to play compositions by Edward MacDowell, for whom the prize is named.

Sondheim has won more Tony Awards than any other composer. His hit musicals include “Follies,” ”A Little Night Music” and “Sweeney Todd.”

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