The purpose of this essay is to document the development of the American Bandmasters Association's Ostwald Award from its inception in 1955 to the present day. The study addresses several aspects of the award's development, taking into account more localized evolution in regard to the award's history, purpose, compositional specifications, and the procedures employed to select the winning composition and composer. Ultimately, the discussion focuses not only on how the award is presented in accordance with its own purposes but the objectives of the American Bandmasters Association. The data for this study are collected through two different methods. The primary method of data collection involves an examination of documents and other associated materials located in the ABA Archive at the University of Maryland. A secondary method of interviews is utilized in order to augment the written record and overcome its deficiencies. Participants in the study include Ostwald Award Committee members and chairs both past and present. While the Ostwald Award has recognized forty-seven compositions since its inception, no formal consideration of the award's history and contribution to the wind band repertoire has been undertaken. Such is the aspiration of this essay.

The wind bands in Japan are considered by many scholars and wind band conductors to be among some of the finest ensembles in today's wind ensemble medium. The literature and repertoire of Japanese ensembles have evolved from orchestral transcriptions, patriotic music, and military marches to original compositions by European, American, and Japanese composers. British conductor Timothy Reynish states that Japanese wind band music has looked traditionally towards the United States and occasionally United Kingdom for inspiration and repertoire. This phenomenon can be attributed to the many collegiate American and the few English wind band conductors who traveled to Japan as guest conductors, and in some cases, became residents of Japan. The focus of this study is to closely examine this significant impact of American collegiate wind band conductors, their influence on Japanese programming and how that programming has affected the collegiate repertoire. This study includes surveys of repertoire, concert programs, discographies of recordings, and interviews with prominent American conductors currently conducting in Japan. This research documents the impact that American wind band conductors have had on the programming of Japanese wind bands and how their influence have altered the collegiate repertoire. Evidence of this impact is documented by Toshio Akiyama, who states that "The influence of visiting musicians from abroad must be measured as one of the most influential aspects affecting Japanese band growth. Although the effect of Japanese musicians traveling to the United States or Europe has been beneficial, the overall impact on large numbers of people has been more directly due to the visitors from abroad."