FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Claude DiDomenica
claudedidomenica@yahoo.com
781-440-6595

BOSTON MUSICIAN FOUR-TIME WINNER
IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST

Loyal Dissent strikes loud chord in Billboard songwriting
contest

BOSTON, Mass. - June 6, 2006 - Jazz composer, guitarist and
humanist, Claude DiDomenica, won four honorable mention awards
in the 13th Billboard World Songwriting Contest. DiDomenica's
winning songs, Baghdad I, Blood For Profit II, French Fries and
Patriot inACTion, are from his latest CD, Loyal Dissent, a
musical interpretation of America after 9/11.

"To borrow a line from the film Apollo 13, 'I'm proud, happy and
thrilled,'" said DiDomenica. "I won the first award and then
received three more over the next few weeks. Amazingly, all four
compositions that I entered won an award." DiDomenica won an
Honorable Mention award for the top 1,500 songs, and three
Honorable Mention awards for the top 500 songs respectively, for
2005.

Billboard is widely considered to be the flagship name in the
music industry. Billboard issues weekly charts on U.S. sales
(Hot 100, Billboard 200) and tracks music in a variety of
categories, such as R&B/Hip-Hop, Country, Latin and Jazz. The
annual songwriting contest attracts thousands of entries from
around the world.

When asked what prompted the Loyal Dissent CD and companion
Website LoyalDissent.com, DiDomenica explains, "The Bush
Administration's heavy-handed response to resistance to the Iraq
war prompted me to do something. This is my reminder to people
that dissent is not unpatriotic. It's ironic that I wrote about
dissent last year, before Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen came
out with their protest albums this year."

DiDomenica summed up each song: "Baghdad I is a relaxed mix of
jazz and Middle Eastern-like melodies to represent President
Bush standing under the 'Mission Accomplished' banner following
the initial phase of the Iraq invasion in 2003. Blood For Profit
II is an edgy piece with an improvised jazz guitar solo that
reflects the sociopathic nature of many of our 'leaders.' French
Fries is a soulful and bluesy tune, reminiscent of the people
who pushed to change the names of 'French Fries' to 'Freedom
Fries.' Patriot inACTion is a piece about a heavy-handed
clandestine group bent on ending our civil liberties. And
ironically, this year, we find out that President Bush
authorized what many consider illegal domestic surveillance on
American citizens, via the National Security Agency."

DiDomenica's talents stem from his strong musical history. His
late mother, Leona, was a gifted pianist and teacher, and his
father, Robert, is a retired composer and former dean and
professor at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
DiDomenica grew up hearing the music of Mozart, Charlie Parker
and his parents.

DiDomenica is delighted to receive this recognition for another
reason. "I performed 100 percent of the work on this CD," he
explained. "I was the producer, sound engineer, mixed and
mastered the tracks, created the computer musical backgrounds,
played guitar and composed the melodies. I tapped into all my
musical, technical and production experience to create this CD."
DiDomenica concludes, "I appreciate Billboard's recognition for
music on the cutting edge of jazz."

Commenting on DiDomenica's music, Mark Furnas, Billboard Contest
Director wrote, "[DiDomenica is] obviously writing at a high
level. This is quite an accomplishment considering the quality
of this year's entries."

Claude DiDomenica is a jazz musician and social activist in the
Boston area and attended the New England Conservatory of Music.
He is also a self-taught sound engineer, producer, composer and
arranger. Ordering information for the Loyal Dissent CD is
available on his Website at http://LoyalDissent.com/

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