The following remarks were read on Craig Smith's behalf at the awards ceremony on October 28, 2007.

I want to thank Choral Arts New England for this prestigious award.  I'm sorry my health does not allow me to be at this gathering today.  I'm deeply honored by this award and honored to be in such distinguished company.  Many of the previous recipients were colleagues - Blanche Moise, Don Teeters, and Dan Pinkham - and I treasure my years studying with Lorna Cooke De Varon.  Choral music is an important part of New England culture.  We are lucky in this part of the world having great choruses doing great music, but mostly we treasure the large number of sophisticated choral singers who have made our lives richer in the pursuit of this great literature.