Sudler Award

SUDLER SILVER SCROLL

In 2005, the West Michigan Concert WINDS were awarded the coveted Sudler Silver Scroll, an award recognizing excellence in community concert bands. 

About the Award

North America's most prestigious award for community concert bands is named after Chicago real estate magnate Louis C. Sudler, a patron of the arts who founded the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a publicly supported, educational foundation established for the purpose of organizing, sponsoring and administering projects contributing to the excellence of bands and band music throughout the world by recognizing excellence in its many forms wherever it may be found.

PURPOSE of the award

To identify, recognize and honor 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, year after year, in the cultural and musical environment of their respective communities.

Selection process

Nominations will be received from any source and at any time. The nominations may be sent to any officer of the Sousa Foundation or to the Sudler Scroll Chair, Sudler Scroll secretary, or any of the Regional Chairs. The nominations will be processed by the Scroll Secretary and brought to the annual meeting of the selection committee which takes place each year in December at the Midwest International Band Clinic in Chicago. The selection committee is composed of successful community band directors who have experienced a number of successful years as band conductors. The committee will review the nominee's programs and other supporting material and the final decision will be made by majority vote of the committee members present. There is no specific number of community bands that can be honored each year.

The John Philip Sousa Foundation

The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of international understanding through the medium of band music. Through the administration of band related projects, the foundation seeks to uphold the standards and ideals of that icon of the American spirit, John Philip Sousa.

For more information, contact the Sousa Foundation at [email protected]

Selection Criteria

  • The band must have achieved and maintained particularly high standards of excellence in concert performance and have selected a high level of musical literature over a period of years.
  • The conductor must be incumbent in their position for a minimum of five years including the current year.
  • The band must have a demonstrated record of contributing significantly to the high standards of cultural environment in its community both by its performances and by involving a high percentage of community residents as performers.