Sousa/Ostwald Award

The Sousa/Ostwald Award is an annual award given by the American Bandmasters Association for a composition for concert band. It was first awarded in 1956, after band uniform suppliers Ernest and Adolph Ostwald established the ABA/Ostwald Award for the best band composition written in the previous year.{{cite web|title=Ostwald Award Archives|url=http://www.lib.umd.edu/PAL/SCPA/ABA/Ostwald/Ostwald.html|publisher=Special Collections in Performing Arts|accessdate=5 September 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628185329/http://www.lib.umd.edu/PAL/SCPA/ABA/Ostwald/Ostwald.html|archivedate=28 June 2012}} Previous rules allowed for compositions of grades 1-6, but the rules are undergoing a transition to focus on grades 1-4 (in 2011) and 5-6 (in 2012). The award was renamed from the Ostwald Award in 2011.[http://americanbandmasters.org/award/rules.asp Award rules] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103091824/http://americanbandmasters.org/award/rules.asp |date=2010-01-03 }}