The American Bandmasters Association

SOUSA/OSTWALD AWARD—CASH PRIZE OF $5,000

The Sousa Foundation has joined with the ABA Foundation to financially support the former Ostwald Award which has been renamed the Sousa/Ostwald Award. The American Bandmasters Association will hold the 54th Sousa/Ostwald Original Band Composition Competition during December of 2012 with a deadline for submission of October 1, 2012.

The 2012 competition is for music from grades of difficulty (5 – 6) written after November of 2009. (The 2013 competition will be for music from grades of difficulty (1 – 4) written after October of 2011.

The Sousa/Ostwald Award is one of the most prestigious awards for wind band compositions. Since 1956 it has stimulated the creation of many important new compositions, thereby enriching the entire spectrum of concert band activity. Because of its continuity, this award has produced more concert band music than any other competition of its kind. Literally thousands of musicians have performed the works of competition winners for their appreciative audiences.

The Sousa/Ostwald Committee (Committee) is made-up of ABA members who review the rules, then screen and judge the entries. Entries are unidentified as to composer and are judged entirely on merit, thereby insuring complete artistic integrity.

The winning composition will be performed during the 2013 annual American Bandmasters Association Convention in Tampa, FL, March 6 – 9, 2013.

Rules

1. All entries must be received by the Committee no later than October 1, 2012.

2. Entries must be original compositions for band that were not previously entered and were composed within the three years prior to the contest. No transcriptions/arrangements (except those of the composer’s own work) will be eligible. Members of the ABA may not enter the contest.

3. The composition should be conceived and constructed so as to be performed effectively by technically proficient concert bands. The work should be of such depth and scope as to require full symphonic band instrumentation, approximately as follows: Flutes, Oboes, Bassoons, 1st-2nd-3rd Bb Clarinets, Bb Bass Clarinet, Eb Alto Saxophones, Bb Tenor saxophone, Eb Baritone Saxophone, Cornets/Trumpets (at least three parts), 1st-2nd-3rd-4th F Horns, Trombones (at least three parts), Euphoniums, Tubas, Percussion. The score may include Piccolo, English Horn, Eb Clarinet, Eb and/or Bb Contra Bass Clarinets, String Bass, etc. Percussion may include Piano or any other keyboard instrument, and anything else from which a sound can be produced.

4. There is neither a time limit on the length of entries, nor is there a limit on the number of movements.

5. Submit only a PDF of the full score of the composition (do not send the instrumental parts) and a MP3 recording using the instrumentation indicated on the score (not a MIDI).

6. The award will be announced on the ABA website soon after the winner has been selected at the Midwest in December. The winning work will be performed at the current convention of The American Bandmasters Association. Depending on the length of the work, the Committee may decide to use an abbreviated version of the winning composition at this performance.

7. The composer of the winning composition will receive a cash prize of $5,000. The prize entitles the ABA to performance rights at future ABA conventions. The composer must furnish a score and a set of parts for the Sousa/Ostwald winning work at no charge to ABA. Some travel expenses will be paid by the ABA for the composer to attend the 2013 Convention.

8. The Committee, by a three-fourths vote of those at the meeting, has the option of withholding the award if no entry merits the award.

9. All rights to the work, including copyright and publisher negotiation, remain with the composer, except for performance rights at ABA conventions. (See #8 above.)

10. A composer may win the contest only two times, after which he or she is ineligible to
enter the contest again.

11. A composer may submit more than one entry, but all entries must be sent separately.

PDF files and MP3files should be sent directly to the Chair of the Committee:

Col. Michael J. Colburn, Director, The United States Marine Band
colburnmj@mac.com