Inaugural American Bandmasters Association/University of Florida Commission Awarded to Composer, Joel Puckett

March 2007 — Thomas V. Fraschillo, President of the American Bandmasters Association, has announced that Joel Puckett is the recipient of the first ABA/University of Florida Commission. The award, which was funded by a generous grant from the University of Florida band program, includes a $10,000 commission to create a major ‘artistic work’ for wind band to be premiered in Miami at the ABA Convention in March 2008.

According to Joseph Hermann, chairman of the selection committee, “the selection of Joel Puckett was unanimous and in line with our desire to set a high artistic bar for the future of this commission.”

The commission arose when David Waybright, Director of Bands at the University of Florida, gave $10,000 and a commitment of an additional $20,000 over the next two years for the creation of a new work of artistic merit.

Prof. Waybright gave only one guideline for the commission, saying, “I just want to make sure that we commission the best composers who will write the best music for the wind band.”

A committee was formed in 2005, and after two years of debate, Mr. Puckett was chosen.

Along with The Ostwald Award, whose most recent recipient is John Mackey, and the special projects committee commission, which was recently awarded to Carter Pann, the establishment of this new commission confirms the organization’s commitment to the encouragement of prominent composers to write music for the wind band.

Joel Puckett is dedicated to the belief that music can bring consolation, hope, and joy to all who need it. The Washington Post has hailed him as both "visionary" and "gifted" and head critic for the Baltimore Sun, Tim Smith, hailed his newest piece, This Mourning, as "being of comparable expressive weight" to John Adams' Pulitzer Prize winning work, On the Transmigration of Souls.

The Washington Chorus—recipient of the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance— commissioned and premiered Puckett's new work This Mourning, for chorus, orchestra, 40 wine glasses and tenor soloist, to rave reviews at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Puckett’s music for wind band has enjoyed great success. His work Ping, Pang, Pong, which was written for Michael Haithcock and the University of Michigan Symphony Band, has been performed by some of the best ensembles in the country with over 40 performances, and will be performed by The President’s Own Marine Band on April 3, 2007.

Puckett has served as an adjudicator for national competitions for young composers, such as the SCI/ASCAP competition. He also frequently gives guest lectures and master classes. He most recently lectured at City College in Harlem, NY; Indiana University in Bloomington, Michigan State University, and the University of Texas-Austin.

Since 2004, Puckett has served on the faculty of Towson University and has previously served on the graduate faculty at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA. To find out more please visit the composer’s website at http://www.joelpuckett.com

The American Bandmasters Association is a service organization founded in 1928, with the goal of recognizing and encouraging outstanding achievement in the field of concert music for winds. The ABA has long championed new works for winds through programs such as the Ostwald Award for Best Original Band Composition, which was the first composition competition for band music in the United States.

For additional information, please contact Joseph Hermann at jwhermann@tntech.edu