I've Won the 2026 Eva Judd O'Meara Prize!

 It is my honor to have been awarded the 2026 Eva Judd O'Meara prize by the Music Library Association (MLA)! This prize is awarded by the organization for their pick of best review in their organization's journal, Notes. Here is the text of the letter I received: 

"Dear Ryan, It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been awarded the Music Library Association’s Eva Judd O’Meara Award for the best review published in MLA’s journal Notes for your review of Vaughan Williams and His World ed. by Byron Adams and Daniel M. Grimley. Notes 80, no. 4 (2024): 654-663. The Music Library Association’s Publications Awards Committee’s recommendation stated that your review presents a sophisticated and nuanced critique of the volume. They note that you thoughtfully challenge what [you identify] as several ahistorical and ideologically driven assumptions concerning both Vaughan Williams’s political outlook and his relationship to musical modernism. In terms of structure, the committee declares that it is substantial in both length and depth, distinguished by prose that is clear, elegant, and free from fashionable jargon. They write that your command of the field renders you an especially qualified commentator, enabling you to identify inaccuracies, omissions, and interpretive missteps that might elude a less knowledgeable critic. The O’Meara Award comes with a monetary award of $240.00. Congratulations and best regards! Bruce J. Evans President, Music Library Association"

You can see this item listed under my publications tab. I'll add that it is very gratifying to be recognized for the critical work I do, especially since it isn't always easy challenging what I consider to be myths and exaggerations in received musicological wisdom. I am grateful to the MLA and its staff for reading my review thoroughly and recognizing its merits.