Winners: BANDS/WIND ENSEMBLES, 2021
Complete listings of finalists and semi-finalists in The American Prize competitions may be found elsewhere on this blog. Please use the chronological tool in the right-hand column to find specific results.
The American Prize Special First Place Award for Musical and Audio Engineering Excellence, for the album,"Spanish Eyes":
Vanderbilt Wind Symphony
Nashville TN
The Vanderbilt Wind Symphony is one of the premier performing ensembles at Vanderbilt University and includes the outstanding woodwind, brass, harp, and percussion students at the Blair School of Music. Recognized for its excellence and artistry, the Wind Symphony has received invitations to perform for state and regional conferences, at the National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association, at the Chicago International Music Festival in Orchestra Hall, and its members have toured internationally in Spain, Costa Rica, and Colombia.
Vanderbilt Wind Symphony
At the Blair School of Music, a rotating menu of projects provides students with a range of wind and orchestral ensemble experiences within each semester. The true core of the Blair instrumental ensemble experience is the chamber music program. All students participate in chamber groups, which rehearse regularly in the hour preceding the conducted ensembles. This approach reflects our philosophy that great ensemble musicianship is inherently collaborative.
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The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—college/ university division (larger program), 2021
The American Prize winner:
Daniel Cook
University of North Texas Wind Ensemble
Denton TX
The University of North Texas Wind Ensemble is dedicated to playing outstanding and challenging works of diverse musical styles while furthering wind music of artistic and historical significance. The members of the ensemble are selected from the most talented musicians in the Wind Studies area. Through flexible instrumentation, members of the Wind Ensemble will broaden and expand performance capabilities to communicate the highest level of music making.
University of North Texas Wind Ensemble
Conductor Daniel Cook is currently on the faculty at UNT where he conducts this ensemble, teaches conducting, and serves as the director of the 425-member Green Brigade. Daniel has completed coursework toward a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University. Daniel is an in-demand clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor. In addition to his work at UNT, he is also the resident conductor for the Dallas Brass Band and is currently on the brass instructional staff at the Santa Clara Vanguard.
The American Prize 2nd Place (there was a tie):
Thomas G. Leslie
UNLV Wind Orchestra
Las Vegas NV
THE UNLV WIND ORCHESTRA has received international acclaim for its fresh and creative approach to music making. Performing contemporary repertoire in addition to classical masterworks, the Wind Orchestra at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has been responsible for commissioning and premiering numerous significant new works by America’s finest young contemporary composers including Eric Whitacre, Wendell Yuponce, Jonathon Newman, Steven Bryant, and many others. In addition, the Wind Orchestra has recently commissioned and premiered new compositions by landmark American contemporary composers Bruce Broughton, Roger Nixon and James Barnes. Special highlights to past UNLV Wind Orchestra performances showcase many of the world’s finest musicians. Such notables include Brian Bowman, Eric Marienthal, Stefan Karlsson, Steve Houghton, Hideo Sano, Gregg Field, Ted Atkatz, and other fine musicians. The ensemble is comprised of music majors, non-majors and includes select graduate students enrolled in the masters and doctoral performance degree programs at UNLV.
UNLV Wind Orchestra
The American Prize 2nd Place (there was a tie):
Lauren Reynolds
University of Delaware Wind Ensemble
Newark DE
The University of Delaware Wind Ensemble, led by Dr. Lauren Reynolds, is comprised of 46 of the finest woodwind, brass, and percussion players in the Department of Music at the University of Delaware. Membership is determined by competitive auditions held at the beginning of each semester, and leads to the development of superb individual and ensemble performance skills and artistry. The University of Delaware Wind Ensemble’s repertoire spans more than five centuries and is selected from the most challenging literature for wind band and wind chamber ensemble, ranging from canonic to contemporary works. The ensemble enjoys a rich history of supporting new music, having led and participated in commissioning consortia of works by David Maslanka, Steve Danyew, Steven Bryant, David Biedenbender, Brett William Dietz, and many others.
University of Delaware Wind Ensemble
The American Prize 3rd Place:
Anthony C. Marinello, III
IL State University Wind Symphony
Normal IL
The Illinois State University Wind Symphony under conductor Anthony C. Marinello is the university’s premier wind band with a national and international reputation for exceptional artistic achievement. This select group of the finest instrumentalists at Illinois State University has been praised by audiences, composers, and critics. In addition to regular performances of standard and new works from the wind band literature on the Illinois State campus each year, the Wind Symphony records and tours regularly. The Wind Symphony has been a featured performing ensemble at the American Bandmasters Association Convention, the Illinois Music Educators Association Conference, the College Band Directors National Association Convention, and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. The Wind Symphony is proud to have enjoyed close relationships with the finest composers writing for wind bands including David Maslanka, Karel Husa, Michael Colgrass, and many others.
Illinois State University Wind Symphony
The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—college/ university division (smaller program), 2021
The American Prize winner:
Timothy Mahr
St. Olaf Band
Northfield MN
Founded in 1891, the St. Olaf Band enjoys a long heritage of energized participation and meaningful performance all across the nation and abroad. Built on a legacy of musical excellence and faithful devotion to standard repertoire, the band is also active in the commissioning process and is committed to the support of new music. Recent premieres have included works by David Maslanka, Jodie Blackshaw, Joseph Schwantner, Andrew Boysen, Libby Larsen, and Stephen Paulus. The St. Olaf Band has produced a series of acclaimed CD recordings and it presented invited performances at the national conferences of CBDNA, ABA, and MENC. Dr. Timothy Mahr succeeded Miles Johnson in 1994 and is now entering his 27th year as the band’s conductor. An undergraduate liberal arts college, St. Olaf is a residential campus of about 3,000 students with Norwegian immigrant roots and ties to the Lutheran Church. https://wp.stolaf.edu/stolaf-band/
St Olaf Band
The American Prize 2nd Place:
Onsby C. Rose
The Dordt University Wind Symphony
Sioux Center IA
The Dordt University Wind Symphony is a select group of 55 instrumentalists who perform wind and percussion masterworks as well as newly composed music. The ensemble has gained a reputation for performances that are extremely expressive and beautiful, as well as technically sound. The ensemble tours extensively throughout the United States and Canada and has also performed in Hungary, Romania, throughout Europe and the Netherlands. Under the direction of Dr. Onsby C. Rose, the group performs five concerts each academic year in addition to their annual tours. Members of the ensemble represent almost every major available at Dordt University.
Dordt University Wind Symphony
Dr. Onsby C. Rose is currently the Director of Instrumental Studies and Associate Professor of Music at Dordt University. In this position, he conducts the premiere instrumental ensemble, the Dordt University Wind Symphony, Chamber Orchestra, Northwest Iowa Symphony Orchestra, and the Dordt Campus-Community Band. He also guides all aspects of the Dordt Instrumental Ensembles and Instrumental Music Education programs. Dr. Rose holds degrees from East Tennessee State University (BME), Appalachian State University (MM) and The Ohio State University (DMA). He also served as a conductor and trombonist in the United States Marine Corps Bands. Dr. Rose has studied conducting with Russel C. Mikkelson, John Ross, and Kevin Richardson with additional conducting symposium studies with Jerry Junkin, Kevin Sedatole, Frank Battisti, Charles Peltz, Eugene Corporon, Donald McKinney, and Steven Peterson.
The American Prize 3rd Place:
William M. Perrine
Concordia University Wind Ensemble
Ann Arbor MI
The Concordia University Wind Ensemble is the university’s premiere instrumental ensemble, an auditioned group of wind and percussion players drawn from students of all majors in a liberal arts environment. Under the direction of Dr. William Perrine, Associate Professor of Music, the group has developed a national reputation for excellence. The Wind Ensemble was hailed as “stunning and inspirational…one of the finest wind bands in the nation” at their debut performance in Carnegie Hall in Spring 2016. The ensemble recently performed at Symphony Hall in Chicago in April 2018, with a peer-reviewed recording of this performance featured at the C.B.D.N.A. National Conference Small Band Program Showcase in 2019. The Wind Ensemble also is also actively involved in the commissioning and premiering of new musical works, engaging in collaborations with composers from across the nation. Concordia University Ann Arbor is a private, liberal arts university in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Concordia University Wind Ensemble
The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—community division, 2021
The American Prize winner:
Gerald Guilbeaux
Acadian Wind Symphony
Lafayette LA
The Acadian Wind Symphony was founded by conductor, Gerald Guilbeaux during the summer of 1994 with a special invitation to professional and amateur wind and percussion players from the South Louisiana. The Ensemble is a collection of some of Acadiana’s top instrumentalists dedicated to the performance of traditional and contemporary masterworks for band. It provides an opportunity for serious wind players and percussionists from the Lafayette area to share in the highest level of musical expression and artistry. Many of the members perform professionally with the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, while others have performed in various other collegiate, amateur and professional ensembles throughout the state of Louisiana. Though many of the members are professional musicians and/or music educators, many other walks of life are represented within the ranks of the organization.
Acadian Wind Symphony
The American Prize 2nd Place:
Ronald Demkee
The Allentown Band
Allentown PA
All members of the Allentown Band approach their music-making in a professional manner, though none makes his or her living from music performance alone. Many, however, are teachers of music in schools and in private studios. Some teach a variety of subjects unrelated to music. Others are engaged in engineering, accounting, sales, insurance, medicine and dentistry, or in various office work or building trades. When they meet to perform, however, whether in a public park setting, retirement community, or in Carnegie Hall, both age and daytime vocation disappear. All effort is concentrated, striving for integrity, inspiration and impact whether performing an overture transcribed from opera, a modern composition written especially for concert band, or a Sousa march.
The Allentown Band
The American Prize 3rd Place:
Kenneth Singleton
Boulder Concert Band
Boulder. CO
Although the COVID19 pandemic stalled its 43rd season, the Boulder Concert Band will play on. During the 1918 flu epidemic, Boulder’s community band, then called the Boulder Citizen’s Band, may have taken a break like us. But the band eventually played on, conducted by Bill Swarts, director, 1899-1919. The first records of a performing band in the city of Boulder date back to 1870. Several decades later, the Boulder Municipal Band was formed and was the first to include women musicians. Today's Boulder Concert Band was reorganized in 1976 by the late Hugh McMillen, former Director of Bands at the University of Colorado. Now directed by Dr. Kenneth Singleton, the current organization has more than 60 volunteer musicians. Its members are drawn from the business, professional, and educational communities in the Boulder County and Denver metro area. 
Boulder Concert Band
The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance—high school division, 2021
The American Prize winner:
Len Lavelle & Lucas Beaver
North Hills HS Wind Ensemble
Pittsburgh PA
The North Hills Wind Ensemble has been featured at conventions around the country including the Midwest Convention, the Concert Band National Convention, the MENC/NAfME All-Eastern Convention, and the PMEA State Convention. The bands were awarded the Sudler Flag of Honor from the John Philip Sousa Foundation as part of the inaugural group in 1983. Guests have included William Revelli, Arthur Fieldler, Arnald Gabriel, Vaclav Nelhybel, Alfred Reed, Stephen Gage, Fred Allen, Allen Vizzutti, Urbie Green, Fred Hemke, Louis Bellison, Timothy Mahr, Tim Lautzenheiser, Stephen Peterson, Peter Boonshaft, among many others.
North Hills High School Wind Ensemble
The North Hills High School Bands have maintained an annual commission series since 1965. The series has resulted in nearly 60 original works for band. Works from the series have been recorded by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra with Frederick Fennel conducting, D.C. service bands, the University of North Texas Wind Symphony, and college ensembles throughout the country. They have also been featured in the series, Teaching Music Through Performance in Band.
The American Prize 2nd Place:
Clinton L. Williams
The Rancho HS Wind Ensemble
Las Vegas NV
The Rancho High School Wind Ensemble from Las Vegas, NV regularly participates in Music for All Concert Festivals, National Concert Festival, and National Adjudicators Invitational Festivals. Since
Rancho High School Wind Ensemble
2013, the Wind Ensemble has earned superior ratings at concert festivals, as well as contributing to six Southern Nevada Band Association Sweepstakes Awards for Rancho Bands. The Wind Ensemble is
also the recipient of both the prestigious William Foster Award for the Western United States and the Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association. In 2019 the band was crowned Grand Champion at the National Band Championship in Canon City, CO. The brass and woodwind choirs also traveled to Chicago, IL in December of 2019 and performed at the prestigious Midwest International Band Clinic. Most recently, the Wind Ensemble was named the 2020 National Winner from the Mark of Excellence, Foundation for Music Education in the New Music category for the field well by Nicholas Omiccioli.
The American Prize 3rd Place:
Jesus Marquez
Richardson HS Wind Symphony
Richardson TX
Since its establishment in 1943, the Richardson High School Band has been one of the most storied and high achieving high school band programs in the country. The Richardson High School Wind Symphony is a nationally recognized concert ensemble having been a featured performer at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic (1964, 1981), named TMEA 5A Honor Band (1977, 1983) and named a National Winner and/or Commended Winner by the Foundation for Music Education in the Mark of Excellence/National Wind Band Honors Project (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019). The Richardson High School Band has been awarded the coveted Sudler Flag of Honor by the Sousa Foundation and is listed in the Foundation’s Historic Roll of Honor. In 2019, the band program was recognized at The 73rd International Band and Orchestra Clinic by the National Band Association as a National Winner of the Programs of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award.
Richardson High School Wind Symphony
The American Prize Finalist Honorable Mention:
Clinton L. Williams
The Rancho HS Clarinet Choir
Las Vegas NV
The Rancho High School Clarinet Choir is a point of pride for our school, administrators and parents.. Historically, many students from this ensemble attain positions in the Nevada Music Educators
Rancho High School Clarinet Choir
Association All-State Band and Orchestra. Additionally, students from this ensemble have pursued music and music education degrees at the University of Nevada, Reno; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Southern Utah University; Northern Arizona University; and the University of Utah. The ensemble performs a variety of repertoire including original works, transcriptions, light-hearted selections, and collaborative efforts including soloists, piano, and percussion. The ensemble has been a feature performer for the National School Board Association Conference, the Nevada School Board State Conference, and many of the CCSD Superintendent’s Receptions. Most recently, this ensemble performed at the prestigious 2019 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, IL. The ensemble was awarded a Citation of Excellence by the National Band Association in 2019.
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Congratulations!
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David (Volosin) Katz, founder and chief judge, is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the musical and theater arts. The American Prize is nonprofit, unique in scope and structure, and is designed to evaluate, recognize and reward the best performers, composers, conductors, ensembles and directors in the United States, at professional, college/university, community and school levels, based on submitted recordings. There is no live competition.
Founded in 2010 and now celebrating its eleventh year, The American Prize has awarded nearly $100,000 in prizes in all categories since its creation. Thousands of artists representing all fifty states have derived benefit from their participation in the contests of The American Prize.
The American Prize will accept applications for the 2021-22 contest season through September 14, 2021 or by extension request. www.theamericanprize.org
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