BATON ROUGE - Work premiered last season by the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra has been awarded the American Prize in Musical Composition.

The piece, written by Gregory Yasinitsky, is titled "Jazz Concerto for Piano and Orchestra," and was the result of a commission from pianist Willis Delony in partnership with BRSO. 

"The final product is a major contribution to our concert repertory, a musical gift to all of us," Delony said.

BRSO premiered the concerto in January 2017, and it has since been performed around the globe.

The American Prize in Musical Composition is a series of new, non-profit national competitions in the performing arts, and provides national and international recognition for the best recorded performances around the U.S.

"The Jazz Concerto integrates passages that demonstrate Delony's classical command of musical nuance and expression with sections featuring his formidable improvisational skills," Yasinitsky said.