A Century of Band Contest Literature Lists: From National Origins to the State of Florida

Abstract

Band repertoire lists for the National Band Contests evolved from a desire to make school bands “more educational” in the 1920s. The national band contest repertoire lists (1924–1943) formed the basis for the wind band canon during the first half of the twentieth century. Many state band organizations developed their own lists when national contests ended after World War II. This study was an analysis of the pieces and composers that were on the Florida band contest lists, how the lists evolved, and who influenced them, especially compared to the national lists. Findings include greater diversity in Florida’s concert music committee membership than National, but likely only since 1991. The percentage of original wind band works on Florida’s lists maintained the final proportions of the National Band Contest lists (approximately 50%–53%). White male composer representation over the 75 years of lists remained extremely high (98.08% of all works), though the proportion of women composers and composers of color on annual additions since 2015 has increased dramatically.