Date of Award

Spring 5-2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

Department

Music

Committee Chair

Catherine A. Rand

Committee Chair Department

Music

Committee Member 2

Gregory A. Fuller

Committee Member 2 Department

Music

Committee Member 3

James E. Standland

Committee Member 3 Department

Music

Committee Member 4

Edward M. Hafer

Committee Member 4 Department

Music

Committee Member 5

Joseph L. Brumbeloe

Committee Member 5 Department

Music

Abstract

The purpose of this document is to assemble into one resource the concert band, wind orchestra, and chamber wind ensemble compositions of the 23 composers who were awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music between 1993 and 2015. The Pulitzer Prize in Music is given annually to an American composer in recognition of distinguished achievement in composition of a work that received its premiere during the previous year. Timothy Mahr completed this study on composers who received the Prize from 1943 to 1992. This is a continuation and replication of that study, following Mahr’s procedures.

A brief biographical sketch will be given for each composer, followed by a complete listing of their works for concert band, wind orchestra, and chamber wind ensembles of five to fourteen performers. Works for concert band and wind orchestra will be annotated, including available information on the premiere, instrumentation, publisher and date of publication, availability, level of difficulty, duration, and commission. Each of these works will be given a brief performance commentary and will include a selective bibliography and selective discography. Works for chamber wind ensembles will be listed by composer, title, and number of instrumental performers, but will not be annotated.

There are 348 works in total to be considered in this research. The 257 chamber wind ensemble works account for 74% of the total, with the 91 works for concert band and wind orchestra comprising 26% of the total number. Second-party transcriptions of works originally for other genres are listed in the appendices, but not annotated or included in the number of total works. This study suggests that conductors should entreat these distinguished composers to continue to write for the wind band medium and identifies works that have been overlooked in scholarly research or have not been professionally recorded.

ORCID ID

0000-0003-0938-0129

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