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The Claude V. Palisca Award honors each year a scholarly edition or translation in the field of music studies. Works eligible for the award include translations into English of musicologically significant texts, editions of music, and editions of musicologically significant texts that best exemplify the highest qualities of originality, interpretation, logic and clarity of thought, and communication.
The award is named in honor of Claude Victor Palisca (1921-2001), an internationally recognized authority on early music, particularly Renaissance and Baroque opera. At his death, Palisca was the Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Emeritus of Music at Yale University.
Nominations
To be eligible for the Claude V. Palisca Award, nominations must meet the following criteria. Eligible works:
- Must be authored by a member of the AMS or a citizen/permanent resident of the United States or Canada.
- Must have been published during the preceding calendar year (referring to the copyright year as found in the front matter of the published work).
- Must be published in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish. (Translations may be translated from any language, but must be published in English.)
Nominations must be received via the award nomination form by 11:59 p.m. ET on the submission deadline. Self-nominations are welcome, as well as nominations from colleagues and publishers. Nominators are asked to provide a digital review copy of the work, if available.
A committee of three scholars will choose a single award recipient from all eligible candidates. Award winners will receive a monetary prize, a certificate, and recognition at the annual meeting of the Society. An individual may receive the Palisca Award only once. A single work of scholarship may receive only one AMS award.
The nomination form opens in October. All nominations are due by 1 February. If this date falls on a weekend or holiday, nominations are due on the following business day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility for the Palisca Award is determined by the copyright date found in the front matter of a nominated publication. For instance, the 2027 Palisca Award considers works which bear the publication year “2026.”
Note: For purposes of award eligibility, the AMS does not generally use early-access or “published online” dates when those are earlier than the year that is printed in the work itself. However, if for some reason a work is not made available until after the date which is printed (e.g., a book’s printed date reads “2025” but the book was not actually released until 2026), please contact the AMS at ams@amsmusicology.org to request an eligibility exception.
Self-nomination is encouraged! The nomination form allows for publisher, colleague, and self-nominations.
All AMS members are eligible to receive the Palisca Award. If you are not yet a member of the AMS, we invite you to join here.
Yes. Works with multiple authors, editors, or translators may be nominated as long as at least one of them meets the award’s eligibility requirements. This includes works for which an author, editor, or translator has previously received the Palisca Award, provided that at least one other co-author, editor, or translator remains eligible.
Past Recipients
View past recipients of the Claude V. Palisca Award.
Current Nominees
View current nominees for the Claude V. Palisca Award.
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