What are the guidelines for awarding the John Phillip Sousa Award?

Answer 1

The John Philip Sousa Band Award is the pinnacle of achievement for high school band students. Created in 1955, the award honors the top student in a high-school band and recognizes superior musicianship and outstanding dedication. It was developed with the cooperation of Helen Sousa Albert and Priscilla Sousa, daughters of the famous composer and bandmaster.

Answer 2

The John Phillip 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 Phillip Sousa, a prominent composer of American band music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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". 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 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 following are the recipients of the Sudler Flag since its inception in 1983: 1983 - Alice High School Band, Alice, Texas 1983 - Bell High School Band, Hurst, Texas 1983 - Georgetown High School Band, Georgetown, Texas 1983 - North Hills High School Band, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1983 - Papillion-Lavista High School Band, Papillion, Nebraska 1983 - Richardson High School Band, Richardson, Texas 1983 - Wheat Ridge High School Band, Wheat Ridge, Colorado 1984 - Berkner High School Band, Richardson, Texas 1984 - Glenbard East High School Band, Lombard, Illinois 1984 - Hardaway High School Band, Columbus, Georgia 1984 - Oconomowoc High School Band, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin 1985 - Clear Lake High School Band, Houston, Texas 1985 - Grand Ledge High School Band, Grand Ledge, Michigan 1985 - South Lakes High School Band, Reston, Virginia 1985 - Stevens High School Band, Rapid City, South Dakota 1985 - Valparaiso High School Band, Valparasio, Indiana 1986 - J.J. Pearce High School Band, Richardson, Texas 1986 - Lakeland High School Band, Lakeland, Florida 1987 - Auburn High School Band, Auburn, Alabama 1987 - Lake Highland High School Band, Dallas, Texas 1988 - Duncanville High School Band, Duncanville, Texas 1988 - Lassiter High School Band, Marietta, Georgia 1988 - Mason City High School Band, Mason City, Iowa 1989 - Coronado High School Band, El Paso, Texas 1989 - James Madison High School Band, Vienna, Virginia 1989 - Sumter High School Band, Sumter, South Carolina 1990 - Herndon High School Band, Herndon, Virginia 1991 - Marian Catholic High School Band, Chicago Heights, Illinois 1991 - Pearl City High School Band, Pearl City, Hawaii 1991 - Robert E. Lee High School Band, Midland, Texas 1992 - J. Robinson High School Band, Fairfax, Virginia 1993 - Lakeland High School Band, Lakeland, Florida 1993 - George Marshall High School Band, Fairfax, Virginia 1994 - Clements High School Band, Sugar Land, Texas 1994 - Lake Braddock Secondary School Band, Burke, Virginia 1994 - The Colony High School Band, The Colony, Texas 1994 - Westfield High School Band, Houston, Texas 1995 - W.T. Woodson High School Band, Fairfax, Virginia 1995 - Spring High School Band, Spring, Texas 1996 - Norcross High School Band, Norcross, Georgia 1997 - Klein Forest High School Band, Houston, Texas 1997 - Langham Creek High School Band, Houston, Texas 1997 - Owasso High School Band, Owasso, Oklahoma 1997 - Westmoore High School Band, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1998 - Jack C. Hays High School Band, Buda, Texas 1998 - Westlake High School Band, Austin, Texas 1999 - Irmo High School Band, Irmo, South Carolina 2000 - Leon High School Band, Leon, Florida 2000 - J.J. Pearce High School Band, Richardson, Texas 2000 - McLean High School Band, McLean, Virginia 2002 - Buchholz High School Band, Gainesville, Florida 2003 - North Hardin High School Band, Radcliff, Kentucky 2003 - The Woodlands High School Band, The Woodlands, Texas 2004 - Dobyns-Bennett High School Band, Kingsport, Tennessee 2004 - Lloyd V. Berkner High School Band, Richardson, Texas 2005 - J. Robinson High School Band, Fairfax, Virginia 2005 - Parkview High School Band, Lilburn, Georgia 2007 - Friendswood High School Band, Friendswood, Texas 2007 - Harrison High School Band, Kennesaw, Georgia 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 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: 1985 - Morehead Junior High, El Paso, Texas 1985 - Ashville Junior High, Asheville, North Carolina 1985 - Gunn Junior High, Arlington, Texas 1985 - Oconomowoc Junior High, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin 1986 - Adamson Junior High, Rex, Georgia 1986 - Southwestern Junior High, Lakeland, Florida 1987 - Morrow Junior High, Morrow, Georgia 1988 - Scottsbluff Junior High, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 1989 - Richardson North Jr. High, Richardson, Texas 1989 - David Crokett Junior High, Odessa, Texas 1990 - Murchison Middle School, Austin, Texas 1990 - Thoreau Intermediate School, Vienna, Virginia 1990 - Westwood Junior High, Dallas, Texas 1992 - McAdams Middle School, Dickinson, Texas 1992 - Wm. Adams Junior High, Alice, Texas 1993 - Highlands Intermediate School, Pearl City, Hawaii 1993 - Hodges Bend Middle School, Houston, Texas 1994 - DeSoto West Middle School, DeSoto, Texas 1994 - Pittman Middle School, Hueytown, Alabama 1995 - Prairie Middle School, Hutchinson, Kansas 1995 - Herndon Middle School, Herndon, Virginia 1997 - Nimitz Jr. High School, Odessa, Texas 1997 - Robinson Middle School, Fairfax, Virginia 1997 - The Colony Middle School, The Colony, Texas 2000 - Space Center Intermediate School, Houston, Texas 2002 - Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, Virginia 2003 - Robert Frost Middle School, Fairfax, Virginia 2003 - Grisham Middle School, Austin, Texas 2005 - Holub Middle School, Houston, Texas 2005 - L.J Alleman Middle School, Lafayette, Louisiana 2006 - Oliver McCracken Middle School, Skokie, Illinois The Sudler Trophy is an award bestowed on one university marching band each year. No school may be honored with the award twice. The official description of the trophy is: 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. http://www.answers.com/john%20phillip%20sousa%20foundation