Index to
Projects and Awards

Purpose

Procedure

The Award

Criteria

Administration

Louis & Virginia
Sudler

Selection Committee

Sudler Flag of Honor Recipients

The
Sudler
Flag of Honor
Gladys Stone Wright, Project Chair

An International Award
Recognizing High School Concert Bands
of
Outstanding Musical Excellence

Sponsored by
Louis and Virginia Sudler

Administered by
The John Philip Sousa Foundation

Purpose

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.

  Procedure

Nominations will be received from any source and at any time by the Sousa Foundation. The nominations will be evaluated by the selection committee established by the Sousa Foundation.
The Selection Committee is composed of a number of active and successful high school band directors together with college and university band directors who themselves have had a number of years of successful high school band experience.
There are no specific number of schools honored each year. The awards will be announced in January after the approval of nominations each year in December. Recipients will be notified by the executive committee of The John Philip Sousa Foundation.
Bands nominated for the award will be asked to submit materials for evaluation purposes. These should include:

1. Concert programs covering the previous three or more years.
2. Recordings from the previous three or more years, including a standard march, a contemporary band work, and an orchestra transcription from the Classical or Romantic period prior to the 20th century.
3. Photographs of the concert and marching band organizations and the director of bands.
4. Press clippings or copies of press clippings and other supporting documents.
5. Written recommendations from three or more band conductors of recognized national reputation who have heard the band perform recently.
6. An information form to be filled out by the conductor for use by the selection committee.

7. Nomination forms may be obtained from or click on the link below:
    Gladys Wright,
    345 Overlook Drive
    West Lafayette, IN 47906
    agwright@verizon.net
    Phone/Fax 765-463-1738

Nomination form-Sudler Flag of Honor

 The Award

Bands receiving The Sudler Flag of Honor will receive a unique and colorful nylon flag executed in red, white, and blue, trimmed with gold fringe. The flag is four by six feet in size.
The director will be given an engraved plaque and each of the members of the band will receive a handsome individualized diploma.
All Sudler Flag of Honor Bands are automatically included in the Sousa Foundation's Historic Roll of Honor of outstanding high school concert bands.

Criteria

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.

Administration

The award is administered by The John Philip Sousa Foundation and implemented by its executive committee.

    
Louis and Virginia Sudler

The Sudler Flag of Honor awards are made possible through the generosity of Louis and Virginia Sudler.

Louis Sudler was a rare combination of successful business man, a performing artist, and a nationally known patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Chicago real estate firm, Sudler and Company; his urge for achievement in the business world was equaled only by his intense desire to assist and inspire talented young musicians.

Mr. Sudler appeared nationally as a soloist in concerts, oratorio, with symphony orchestras, with concert bands, at functions honoring five United States presidents, and as a recording artist. A baritone, he was a member of the Chicago Civic Opera.

Louis Sudler had long expressed his interest in the arts, not only as a successful performing musician but as a patron of the arts, vitally interested in recognizing outstanding accomplishments, particularly by students at the high school and college levels. He was founder and host of the Peabody award-winning television program, "Artist's Showcase," which ran for 14 years. He was internationally known for his leadership of The Orchestral Association of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and served on the boards of many art institutions in this country. Over the years he established scholarships and awards for young talented musicians through the Louis Sudler Foundation and the Sousa Foundation.

His wife, Virginia Brown Sudler, was a patron of the arts, remained active in The John Philip Sousa Foundation, serving as Vice-President on the Executive Board until her death in 2003.

Members of the Selection Committee
Gladys Stone Wright, Chair
345 Overlook Drive
West Lafayette, Indiana, 47906
Ph/Fax (765) 463-1738
agwright@verizon.net

 Sudler Flag of Honor Recipients

Updated November 2009