Congratulations to Professor Theodore Levin, who has won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his liner notes to volumes 7, 8 and 9 of the Music of Central Asia series, a co-production of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and the Aga Khan Music Initiative. The ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards honor outstanding print, broadcast and new media coverage of music.

"The story of the modern renaissance of Central Asian music is a compelling one, and Ted Levin tells it well," said Smithsonian Folkways Director Daniel Sheehy. "He is an authoritative, engaging writer, and his work nicely complements the extraordinary music and musicians he describes."

Each album in the award-winning series features full-color booklets with extensive liner notes, an instrument glossary, and a DVD with a documentary film about the music and performers. Borderlands, the 10th and final volume of the series scheduled for release in 2012, features pipa virtuoso Wu Man and master musicians from the Silk Route.