John Philip Sousa Foundation


The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of band music internationally. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high quality band performance, conducting, and composition.
The foundation is named for John Philip Sousa, a prominent composer of American band music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Successor to the Sousa Memorial Committee, the organization was reorganized as the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 1980 with support from Louis Sudler, a Chicago real estate developer and arts patron for whom many of the foundation's awards are named.

Projects

Projects of the Sousa Foundation include funding for the main stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., honor bands, conducting competitions, awards for outstanding performing ensembles, and bringing attention to historic sites in band history. Many of the foundation's awards are funded through an endowment from Louis and Virginia Sudler, and are collectively known as the "Louis Sudler Awards of Merit".

The Sousa National High School Honors Band

Founded in 1981, the Sousa National High School Honors Band is an ensemble made up of roughly 100 high school junior and senior musicians, selected from the top applicants worldwide. The band performs biennially in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is conducted by former United States Marine Band conductor Col. John R. Bourgeois.

The Sudler Flag of Honor

The Sudler Flag of Honor is an award bestowed to identify, recognize and honor high school band programs internationally that have demonstrated particularly significant high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years. No school may win the award twice under the same director. The official description of a deserving band is:
The band must have achieved and maintained a high standard of excellence in the concert area over a period of several years. The concert band will have placed itself in situations where there has been opportunity for evaluation by qualified persons or has been rated "superior" at state, regional, or national levels in concert activities. The band program must offer its participants a complete and balanced program of musical activities including concert, solo, ensemble, and marching areas. The band should have performed at regional, state, national, and professional meetings of significance. These can include but are not limited to state music conventions, regional or national MENC meetings, and state or national band association conventions. The director must have been incumbent in his/her position for at least seven years, including the current year. A number of the students in the band should have participated in district and all-state honor bands or similar all-area groups.

The Sudler Flag of Honor is typically considered to be the highest award a high school band can achieve. Sudler Flag laureate bands are automatically included on the [|Historic Roll of Honor]. The following are the recipients of the Sudler Flag since its inception in 1983:
The Sudler Cup is an award bestowed to identify, recognize and honor junior high and middle school concert band programs that have demonstrated particularly significant high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years. The official description of a deserving band is:
The band must have achieved and maintained a high standard of literature in the concert area over a period of several years. The concert band will have placed itself in situations where there has been opportunity for evaluation by qualified persons or has been rated "superior" at state, regional, or national levels in concert activities. The band should have performed at regional, state, national, and professional meetings of significance. These can include but are not limited to state music conventions, regional or national MENC meetings, and state or national band association conventions. The director must have been incumbent in his/her position for at least seven years, including the current year. A number of the students in the band should have participated in district and all-state honor bands or similar all-area groups. The total program of music should exemplify what is considered a sound viable, music education program for this level of endeavor.

The following are the recipients of the Sudler Cup since its inception in 1985:
The Sudler Trophy is an award bestowed on one university marching band every other year, and was an annual award from 1982 to 2007. Described by a Los Angeles Times reporter as "he Heisman Trophy of the collegiate band world", the award does not represent the winner of any championship, but rather a band surrounded by great tradition that has become respected nationally. No school may be honored with the award twice. According to the official description of the trophy:
The purpose of the Sudler Trophy is to identify and recognize collegiate marching bands of particular excellence who have made outstanding contributions to the American way of life. The Sudler Trophy is awarded annually to a college or university marching band which has demonstrated the highest musical standards and innovative marching routines and ideas, and which has made important contributions to the advancement of the performance standards of college marching bands over a period of years.
The trophy measures exactly 22½ inches from the base to the tip of the drum major's mace; precisely the size of a standard 8 to 5 step in marching.
The following are the recipients of the Sudler Trophy since its inception in 1982:
YearMarching bandUniversity
1982Michigan Marching BandUniversity of Michigan
1983Marching IlliniUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
1984The Ohio State University Marching BandOhio State University
1985Marching 100Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
1986Longhorn BandUniversity of Texas at Austin
1987Pride of OklahomaUniversity of Oklahoma
1988Spartan Marching BandMichigan State University
1989Marching JayhawksUniversity of Kansas
1990Hawkeye Marching BandUniversity of Iowa
1991Sun Devil Marching BandArizona State University
1992Wildcat Marching BandNorthwestern University
1993Bruin Marching BandUniversity of California, Los Angeles
1994Marching Royal DukesJames Madison University
1995All-American Marching BandPurdue University
1996Cornhusker Marching BandUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln
1997Mountaineer Marching BandWest Virginia University
1998Minuteman Marching BandUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
1999Goin' Band from RaiderlandTexas Tech University
2000Georgia Redcoat Marching BandUniversity of Georgia
2001Fightin' Texas Aggie BandTexas A&M University
2002Tiger Marching BandLouisiana State University
2003Million Dollar BandUniversity of Alabama
2004Auburn University Marching BandAuburn University
2005Penn State Blue BandPennsylvania State University
2006Razorback Marching BandUniversity of Arkansas
2007Marching HundredIndiana University Bloomington
2009Pride of the MountainsWestern Carolina University
2011Band of the Fighting IrishUniversity of Notre Dame
2013The Pride of the SunshineUniversity of Florida
2015The Pride of Wildcat LandKansas State University
2017Cyclone Marching BandIowa State University
2019"Incomparable" Golden Rams Marching BandWest Chester University of Pennsylvania

The Sudler Shield

The Sudler Shield recognizes outstanding high school marching bands.
The following are the recipients of the Sudler Shield:
The Sudler Scroll recognizes and honors those community bands that have demonstrated particularly high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years, and which have played a significant and leading role in the cultural and musical environment in their respective communities.
Those community concert bands which have won the award include:
The Sudler International Composition Competition is a biennial competition for wind band composition.
The following are the winners of the competition since its inception in 1983:
YearCompositionComposer
1983Concerto for Wind EnsembleKarel Husa
1985Winds of NagualMichael Colgrass
1987Piece of MindDana Wilson
1989Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings"Johan de Meij
1991American GamesNicholas Maw
1993Passacaglia Ron Nelson
1997Dance MovementsPhilip Sparke

Sousa/Ostwald Award