Highlights of the Ostwald Award, 1971-1980

The ABA Ostwald Contest in the 1970s continued to attract dozens of high-quality submissions each year. Some of the winning compositions during this period were complex works by young composers, such as Loretta Jankowski's Todesband and James Barnes' Symphony, op. 35.

By the 1970s, it became standard for the ABA to issue live recordings from its annual convention. These multi-disc sets include that year's winning composition, typically performed by one of the service bands of the United States Armed Forces. The recording of the 1976 convention, shown at right, includes a performance by a special Armed Forces Bicentennial Band.