On the beat: Rorem becomes American Academy gold medalist; classical action bowling bonanza nears $65,000 mark; Murphy's Broadway romance.

On a rainy May 21, I made my way up to Harlem for the American Academy of Arts and Letters's annual Ceremonial. Unlike many other awards ceremonies, this one has managed to maintain an upright, dignified tone. Although the speeches may ramble on a bit, the Ceremonial provides a rare and tantalizing opportunity to see many of the most accomplished American authors, artists and composers together on one stage. (This year's gathering boasted the likes of ELIZABETH SPENCER, HORTON FOOTE, REYNOLDS PRICE, ANN BEATTIE, ALISON LURIE, ROBERT BRUSTEIN and JACK BEESON.) One high point came when the Academy bestowed its Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Music (awarded once every three years) on NED ROREM, who turns eighty on October 23. The award, given in recognition of an entire body of work, was presented by Rorem's colleague DAVID DEL TREDICI, who, in recognition of Rorem's frequent appearances in The New York Times crossword puzzles, composed his own acrostic:

 
   Newly-minted song abounds, as 
   Ever fresh his music sounds. 
   Dauntless writer, never shy, he 
   Rightly claims the public eye. 
   Over years his output grew so 
   Rich, so elegant, so new. 
   Empty praise would only bore 'im, so 
   May we laud with gold, Ned Rorem! 

The leaders of the classical-music industry are not always known for displaying great solidarity. Yet on June 9, there were many of the brightest lights in the business, throwing gutterballs and picking up easy spares at the Bowlmor Lanes in Manhattan's East Village. The event was Up Our Alley!, the fifth annual bowling bonanza to raise money for CLASSICAL ACTION/PERFORMING ARTS AGAINST AIDS. Since its inception in 1992, Classical Action, under its founding director, CHARLES HAMLEN, has proved tireless at raising funds for various HIV and AIDS services through private concerts, recordings, and corporate and individual donations; at present, the organization pulls in around $750,000 annually.

At this year's Up Our Alley!, all forty-two lanes at Bowlmor were taken up with teams representing Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the New York Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, OPERA NEWS, Broadway Video and various arts-management and public-relations firms. 350 participants raised nearly $65,000 in individual pledges--a remarkable amount in these tough economic times. Winning the top prize for the most money raised was MICROSOFT's team, the Micro-Tones, with a total of $2,980, closely followed by G. SCHIRMER's Clair de Lanes with $2,890. The prize for most money raised by an individual went to Schirmer's NORMAN RYAN, who brought in an impressive $1,995. ...