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 53rd Sousa/Ostwald Original Band Composition Competition during December of 2011 with a deadline for submission of November 4, 2011.}

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

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 2012 annual American Bandmasters Association Convention in Indianapolis, IN, Feb. 29—March 3.

Rules

1. All entries must be received by the Committee no later than November 4, 2011.

2. Entries must be original compositions for band that were composed after November of 2009. 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 high school bands, thereby encouraging the widest possible exposure of significant new band music to performers and listeners alike. The work should be of such depth and scope as to require full symphonic band instrumentation, approximately as follows: Flute/s, Oboe/s, Bassoon/s, 1st-2nd-3rd Bb Clarinets, Bb Bass Clarinet, Eb Alto Saxophone/s, Bb Tenor saxophone, Eb Baritone Saxophone, Cornets/Trumpets (at least three parts), 1st-2nd-3rd-4th F Horns, Trombones (at least three parts), Euphonium/s, Tuba/s, Percussion. Score may include Piccolo, English Horn, Eb Clarinet, Eb and/or Bb Contra Bass Clarinet/s, 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 or a limit on the number of movements.

5. Submit only the full score of the composition (do not send the instrumental parts) and a good recording on cassette tape or compact disc using the instrumentation indicated on the score (not a MIDI).

6. The composer’s name must not appear on the score. A sealed envelope with the name, address, and phone number of the composer should be affixed to the title page of the score.

7. The award will be announced immediately after the winner has been selected, usually in the third week of 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.

8. The composer of the winning composition will receive a cash prize. The prize entitles the ABA to performance rights at any 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 2012 Convention.

9. 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.

10. All rights to the work, including copyrighting and negotiating with publishers for publication, remain with the composer, except for performance rights at ABA conventions. (See #8 above.)

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

12. The score and recording will be returned to the composer if return postage is included with the entry. The Committee will exercise all precautions to insure that manuscripts and recordings are returned safely, but cannot assume the responsibility for losses in transit. The score and recordings should be wrapped securely, with the outside of the package reinforced with plastic sealing tape.

13. A composer may submit more than one entry, but all entries must be sent separately. Compositions transmitted via fax will not be accepted. Composers should send manuscripts and recordings and direct all inquiries to the chairman of the Committee:Committee:

Kerry Taylor, ABA/Ostwald Committee
Director of Bands, Westlake High School
4100 Westbank Dr.
Austin, TX 78746
Email: ktaylor@eanesisd.net