The Distinguished Service to Music Medal is an award presented by

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricul ...

, National Honorary Band Fraternity. It is awarded to people who have contributed to the advancement of the wind band "as a cultural, musical and educational medium." The Distinguished Service to Music Medal has been awarded 137 times to 134 recipients. The decoration itself is a golden star enameled in the fraternity colors of blue and white. The star, which symbolizes the fraternity ritual and motto, "Strive for the Highest", is surrounded by a golden laurel wreath, symbolizing achievement. Upon the star is the fraternity crest and the words "Distinguished Service" with the Greek letters "ΚΚΨ." The medal is surmounted by a lyre representing the field of music. The decoration may be worn suspended by a blue and white ribbon, for formal occasions or musical performances. The medal was designed by Jack K. Lee, Grand President from 1963 to 1965, and was first awarded to ten men and women.

Recipients

First recipients

The first recipients of the Distinguished Service to Music Medal were awarded it in late 1964 and early 1965. The reasons for which these ten men and women were awarded the medal served as the basis for the categories for later awardees. *

Morton Gould Morton Gould (December 10, 1913February 21, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist. Biography Morton Gould was born in Richmond Hill, New York, United States. He was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities i ...

(Composition) * Frank Simon and

William Revelli William D. Revelli (February 12, 1902 – July 16, 1994) was an American music educator and conductor best known for his association with the University of Michigan, where he directed the university's bands including the Michigan Marching Ba ...

(Concert Band) * Eugene J. Weigel (Marching Band) *

Sigurd Raschèr Sigurd Manfred Raschèr (pronounced 'Rah-sher') (15 May 190725 February 2001) was an American saxophonist born in Germany. He became an important figure in the development of the 20th century repertoire for the classical saxophone. Early life ...

(Artist Performer) * Earl Kent of

C.G. Conn C. G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, is a former American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915. It bought the production facilities owned by Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in earl ...

(Industrial Research and Progress) *

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 195 ...

for ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

'' (Contributing Layman) *

Herman B Wells Herman B Wells (June 7, 1902 – March 18, 2000), a native of Boone County, Indiana, was the eleventh president of Indiana University Bloomington and its first university chancellor. He was pivotal in the transformation of Indiana Universit ...

(Alumni Achievement) * A. Frank Martin and Grace F. Martin (Fraternity Service)

All awardees

Following is a list of all recipients of the award, from 1963 to the present. ; 1963–65 :

, ''Composition'' : Frank Simon, ''Concert Band'' :

, ''Concert Band'' : Eugene J. Weigel, ''Marching Band'' :

, ''Artist Performer'' : Earl Kent, ''Industrial Research and Progress'' :

, ''Contributing Layman'' : Herman B. Wells, ''Alumni Achievement'' : A. Frank Martin, ''Fraternity Service'' : Grace F. Martin, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 1965–67 : Karl King, ''Composition'' : Harold Bachman, ''Concert Band'' : Glenn C. Bainum, ''Marching Band'' : H. E. Nutt, ''Instrumental Music Education'' :

Paul V. Yoder Paul Van Buskirk Yoder (October 8, 1908 – April 4, 1990) was an American musician, composer, arranger, and band director. Life Yoder was born on October 8, 1908, in Tacoma, Washington.Smith, Norman E., and Stoutamire, Albert, Paul Yoder, Band ...

, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Leonard Smith, ''Artist Performer'' :

Guggenheim family The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...

of New York, ''Contributing Layman'' : F. Lee Bowling, ''Alumni Achievement'' : J. Lee Burke, ''Fraternity Service'' :

William A. Scroggs William Alexander Scroggs (November 27, 1896 – March 14, 1984), born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, was an insurance agent and Founder of Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity. He was a commerce and marketing student at Oklahoma A&M Col ...

, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 1967–69 : Clarence Sawhill, ''Concert Band'' :

Manley Whitcomb Manley Rowley Whitcomb (January 21, 1913—November 20, 1987) was a concert band and marching band conductor known for being the director of Florida State University's Marching Chiefs. Whitcomb was Director of Bands at FSU from 1953 to 1970. Whi ...

, ''Instrumental Music Education'' :

Leonard Falcone Leonard Vincent Falcone (Fal-CONE-ee) (5 April 1899 – May 2, 1985) was an Italian-American musician, conductor, arranger, lecturer, and educator. He was well known as a virtuoso on the baritone horn, having extensively performed, written, and ...

, ''Artist Performer'' : Nels Vogel, ''Industrial Research and Progress'' : Adolph Ostwald, ''Contributing Layman'' ; 1969–71 :

Lucien Cailliet Lucien Cailliet (May 22, 1891 – January 3, 1985) was a French-American composer, conductor, arranger and clarinetist. Biography Cailliet was born in 1891 at Dampierre-sur-Moivre, in northern France. He studied at several French music conse ...

, ''Composition'' :

Richard Franko Goldman Richard Franko Goldman (December 7, 1910 – January 19, 1980) was a conductor, educator, author, music critic, and composer. Born Richard Henry Maibrunn Goldman (Maibrunn being his mother's family name), he adopted the same middle name as ...

, ''Concert Band'' : Jack K. Lee, ''Marching Band'' : Robert Arthur, ''Instrumental Music Education'' :

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) a ...

, ''Artist Performer'' :

Traugott Rohner Traugott is both a surname and a male given name of German origin. The name first appeared in the 17th century and is hardly used today. Its meaning is 'trust in god'. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Elizabeth C. Traugott (born 1 ...

, ''Industrial Research and Progress'' : Donald Moore, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 1971–73 : Robert E. Jager, ''Composition'' : Mark Hindsley, ''Concert Band'' : William P. Foster, ''Marching Band'' : William Moffitt, ''Marching Band'' : Bertram Francis, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Eugene Rousseau, ''Artist Performer'' : Nilo Harvey, ''Industrial Research and Progress'' : Forrest McAlister, ''Contributing Layman'' : D. O. Wiley, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 1975–77 :

Robert Russell Bennett Robert Russell Bennett (June 15, 1894 – August 18, 1981) was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, ...

, ''Composition'' : Hiram Henry, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Robert Kamm, ''Contributing Layman'' ; 1977–79 : Raymond Dvorak, ''Concert Band'' : Frederick Fennell, ''Concert Band'' : Colonel Arnald Gabriel, ''Concert Band'' :

Harvey Phillips Harvey Gene Phillips, Sr. (December 2, 1929 – October 20, 2010) was an American tuba player. He served as the Distinguished Professor of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington (from 1971 to 1994) and was dedicated advocate ...

, ''Artist Performer'' ; 1979–81 :

Truman Crawford Colonel Truman W. "Tru" Crawford (USMC) (April 1, 1934 – March 3, 2003) was a music arranger, composer, and conductor for drum and bugle corps. He was the long-time commander and director of "The Commandant's Own," the United States Marine Drum a ...

, ''Marching Band'' : John Long, ''Instrumental Music Education'' ; 1981–83 : Al G. Wright, ''Concert Band and Marching Band'' ; 1983–85 : Charles Carter, ''Composition'' : Richard Bowles, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Louis Sudler, ''Contributing Layman'' ; 1985–87 : Clare Grundman, ''Composition'' :

Harry Begian Dr. Harry Begian (1921-2010) was an American band director, composer and arranger. Begian taught at both the secondary and collegiate level during his career. Early life Begian was born in Michigan to Armenian immigrants on April 24, 1921. The i ...

, ''Concert Band'' : Colonel John R. Bourgeois, ''Concert Band'' : John Paynter, ''Concert Band'' ; 1987–89 :

W. Francis McBeth William Francis McBeth (March 9, 1933 – January 6, 2012) was an American composer, whose wind band works are highly respected. His primary musical influences included Clifton Williams, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson. The popularity of his ...

, ''Composition'' : Claude T. Smith, ''Composition'' :

Fisher Tull Fisher Aubrey Tull, Jr. (September 23, 1934 – August 23, 1994), known professionally as Fisher A. Tull, aka Mickey Tull, was an American composer, arranger, educator, administrator, and trumpeter. Life and career Tull was born in Waco, Texas, ...

, ''Composition'' :

Ray Cramer Ray E. Cramer (born 28 June 1940) is an American band conductor. Education Cramer has degrees from Western Illinois University and the University of Iowa. In December 1991, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from his alma mater o ...

, ''Instrumental Music Education'' ; 1989–91 :

Alfred Reed Alfred Reed (January 25, 1921 – September 17, 2005) was an American neoclassical composer, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble to his name. He also traveled extensively as a ...

, ''Composition'' : Hugh McMillen, ''Concert Band, Alumni Achievement, and Fraternity Service'' : James K. Copenhaver, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Stanley F. Michalski Jr., ''Instrumental Music Education'' : James G. Saied, ''Contributing Layman'' : Max Mitchell, ''Fraternity Service'' : Susan Mitchell, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 1991–93 : James Barnes, ''Composition'' : H. Owen Reed, ''Composition'' : Kenneth G. Bloomquist, ''Concert Band'' : Richard Strange, ''Concert Band'' : Walter M. Chesnut, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Thomas Henry Delaine, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Emery L. Fears, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Henry Levy, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Stanley G. Finck, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 1993–95 :

H. Robert Reynolds H. Robert Reynolds is an American musician, conductor and academic. He is currently the principal conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he holds the H. Robert Reynolds Pro ...

, ''Concert Band'' : James Sudduth, ''Concert Band'' : Conrad Hutchinson Jr., ''Marching Band'' ; 1995–97 : Frank B. Wickes, ''Concert Band'' : Don Wilcox, ''Concert Band'' : Richard Worthington, ''Concert Band'' : Kenneth M. Corbett, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 1997–99 : James Croft, ''Concert Band'' : James Jacobsen, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Elden Janzen, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Gary Langford, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Clifford Madsen, ''Instrumental Music Education'' ; 1999–2001 :

Frank Ticheli Frank Ticheli (born January 21, 1958) is an American composer of orchestral, choral, chamber, and concert band works. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where he is a Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California. He was ...

, ''Composition'' : Robert Foster, ''Concert Band'' : Gary Garner, ''Concert Band'' : John Whitwell, ''Concert Band'' : Keith Bearden, ''Marching Band'' : Robert "Coach" Fleming, ''Marching Band'' : Gary E. Smith, ''Marching Band'' :

Frederick Hemke Fred Hemke, DMA ''(né'' Frederick Leroy Hemke Jr.; July 11, 1935 – April 17, 2019) was an American virtuoso classical saxophonist and influential professor of saxophone at Northwestern University. Hemke helped raise the popularity of clas ...

, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Tim Lautzenheiser, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Jim Cochrane, ''Industrial Research and Progress'' ; 2001–03 : Ken Singleton, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Melvin Miles Jr., ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Alfred Sergel III, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Christopher Haughee, ''Fraternity Service'' ; 2003–05 : Melborn Nixon, ''Instrumental Music Education'' ; 2005–07 :

Karel Husa Karel Husa (August 7, 1921 – December 14, 2016) was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. In 1954, he emigrated to t ...

, ''Composition'' :

Donald Grantham Donald Grantham (born November 9, 1947) is an American composer and music educator. Grantham was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. After receiving a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oklahoma, he went on to receive his MM and DMA from the Univers ...

, ''Composition'' : Craig Kirchoff, ''Concert Band'' : James F. Keene, ''Concert Band'' : Johnnie Vinson, ''Concert Band'' : Issac Greggs, ''Marching Band'' :

Jack R. Anderson Jack R. Anderson was appointed Director of Bands at the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 after serving as assistant director at Pitt for 9 years. His responsibilities include directing the Varsity Marching Band, leading the Pep Band, and conduct ...

, ''Marching Band'' : Paul Droste, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Bentley Shellahammer, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Don McGinnis, ''Conducting'' : William Gora, ''Conducting'' : Steve West, ''Industry'' ; 2007–09 :

George N. Parks George N. Parks (May 23, 1953 – September 16, 2010) was the director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band at University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1977 until 2010. He also led the George N. Parks Drum Major Academy, a ...

, ''Marching Band'' : Jon R. Woods, ''Marching Band'' : Scott E. Stowell, ''Fraternity Service'' : Joseph Hermann, ''Conducting'' ; 2009–11 : Adam Gorb, ''Composition'' : Mark Camphouse, ''Composition'' : Joseph P. Missal, ''Concert Band'' : William V. Johnson, ''Concert Band'' : David Patrick Dunnigan, ''Marching Band'' : Julian White, ''Marching Band'' : David Gregory, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Earl Dunn, ''Instrumental Music Education'' : Lt. Colonel Alan L. Bonner, ''Conducting'' : Michael Haithcock, ''Conducting'' : Jerry F. Junkin, ''Conducting'' : Mark Morette, ''Industry'' ; 2011–13 : Paula Crider, ''Conducting'' : William K. Wakefield

Multiple recipients

Hugh E. McMillen, former Director of Bands at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

and Past National President of Kappa Kappa Psi, has been awarded the medal for three causes: for concert band, alumni achievement, and fraternity service. Al G. Wright, Director of Bands Emeritus at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, is the only other person to receive the award in more than one category: concert band and marching band.

References

{{Kappa Kappa Psi articles Kappa Kappa Psi American music awards Awards established in 1963