Innova Recordings is the independent record label

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 of the non-profit American Composers Forum

American Composers Forum

The American Composers Forum is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the promotion and assistance of American composers and their music. It was founded in 1973 as the Minnesota Composers Forum and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States...

, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

. It was founded in 1982

1982 in music

This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....

 as a way to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minnesota (now (American) Composers Forum. During the course of these early years it produced several sampler LPs featuring the works of a range of Minnesota composers, many of whom have since gone on to national prominence. These include Eric Stokes, Libby Larsen

Libby Larsen

Libby Larsen is one of America’s most performed living composers. She has created a catalogue of over 400 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral works and over fifteen operas...

, Paul Schoenfield

Paul Schoenfield

Paul Schoenfield is a classical composer. He is known for combining popular, folk, and classical music forms.Schoenfield was born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He began to take piano lessons at the age of six, and wrote his first composition a year later. Among his teachers were Julius Chajes,...

, and Stephen Paulus. With the advent of the compact disc, Innova began releasing selected highlights from the top ensembles — such as the Dale Warland Singers

Dale Warland Singers

The Dale Warland Singers was a 40-person choral group in the United States, based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1972 and conducted by Dale Warland, the ensemble tackled a repertoire of difficult, complex, and beautiful polyphonic works for both a cappella...

, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra , based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is the United States' only full-time professional chamber orchestra...

 and the Alexander String Quartet — that had been on the Composers Forum concert seasons.

In 1994, Innova opened its doors to artists with a finished master tape wanting access to its established distribution network. Under this scheme, called the Recording Assistance Program, Innova expanded its catalog considerably. The label now produces between 25 and 40 CDs and DVDs per year. There are currently over 330 titles in the catalog, ranging from new classical

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 to, experimental

Experimental music

Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...

, electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

, jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, world

World music

World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...

, and no-genres. It is best known for its series of releases featuring Harry Partch

Harry Partch

Harry Partch was an American composer and instrument creator. He was one of the first twentieth-century composers to work extensively and systematically with microtonal scales, writing much of his music for custom-made instruments that he built himself, tuned in 11-limit just intonation.-Early...

 and Henry Brant

Henry Brant

Henry Dreyfuss Brant was a Canadian-born American composer. An expert orchestrator with a flair for experimentation, many of Brant's works featured spatialization techniques.- Biography :...

, as well as its activities introducing less established artists and composers to the larger music scene. For its services to artists, the label was awarded an endowment by the McKnight Foundation to subsidize its ongoing activities.

Notable accolades

• ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, 1998, for "Enclosure Three: Harry Partch"
• Grammy Nominations: David Frost (2003), Stuart Hyatt (2005), Orlando Jacinto Garcia (2010)
• Stereophile: 80 Must-Have Recordings (2007), for "Delusion of the Fury, Harry Partch"
• Major project grants from the New York State Music Fund , and the National Endowment for the Arts .
• Million dollar endowment by the McKnight Foundation