The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profitfoundation 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.[2][3]
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 schooljunior and senior musicians, selected from the top applicants worldwide. The band performs semi-regularly at a variety of locations around the United States.
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.[4]
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:[4]
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.[5]
The following are the recipients of the Sudler Cup since its inception in 1985:[5]
The Sudler Trophy is an award bestowed on one university marching band. It was awarded annually from 1982 to 2007 and biannually since then. Described by a Los Angeles Times reporter as "[t]he Heisman Trophy of the collegiate band world",[6] 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 22.5 inches (57 cm) from the base to the tip of the drum major's mace; precisely the size of a standard 8 to 5 step in marching.[7][8]
The following are the recipients of the Sudler Trophy since its inception in 1982:[7]
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:[10]
