Berry Miller Junior High Honors Band recently received the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Cup Award for its high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years. Under the direction of Chris Bennett, BMJH Honors Band is the first Pearland ISD program to be recognized by the Sousa Foundation.
The highest international honor a middle school band program can receive, the Sudler Cup award is presented to bands which have maintained a level of the highest quality of musical performance and organizational distinction at the international level over a period of at least seven years.
To qualify for the achievement, the band must have achieved and maintained a high standard of literature in the concert area over a period of several years. The concert band will have placed itself in situations where there has been opportunity for evaluation by qualified persons or has been rated “superior” at state, regional, or national levels in concert activities. The band should have performed at regional, state, national, and professional meetings of significance. These can include but are not limited to state music conventions, regional or national meetings by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and state or national band association conventions. The director must have been incumbent in his/her position for at least seven years, including the current year. A number of the students in the band should have participated in district and all-state honor bands or similar all-area groups. The total program of music should also exemplify what is considered a sound viable, music education program for this level of endeavor.
“I am incredibly proud of the Berry Miller Junior High Honors Band program for being presented with such a high honor as the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Cup Award,” Pearland ISD Director of Fine Arts Tom Bell said. “This outstanding achievement is evidence of the students’ and director’s history of success in all levels of competition and performances. I am thankful for their exceptional commitment to excellence.”
Berry Miller Junior High Honors Band will be presented with the Sudler Cup by the John Philip Sousa Foundation on Tuesday, May 23, at 7 p.m at Pearland Junior High South.
