The Ditson Conductor's Award, established in 1945, is the oldest award honoring conductors

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 for their commitment to the performance of American music

American music

The music of the Americas is very diverse since, in addition to many types of Native American music, the music of Africa and the music of Europe have been found there for some five centuries, creating many hybrid forms that have influenced the popular music of the world.-See also:*Canadian...

. The US$5,000 purse endowed by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 was increased in 1999 from US$1,000.

Upon the death of Alice M. Ditson, widow of music publisher Charles H. Ditson, on 30 April 1940, her bequest to Columbia University was for "the encouragement and aide of musicians." From this was born fellowships, public hearings, publication of the work of talented musicians and the Ditson Conductors Award.

Ditson Conductor's Award recipients

1945 Howard Hanson Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music... 1946 Leon Barzin Leon Barzin Léon Eugene Barzin was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association , the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States... 1947 Alfred Wallenstein Alfred Wallenstein Alfred Wallenstein was an American cellist and conductor, born in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 17, he joined the San Francisco Symphony as a cellist. He subsequently played cello with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra before becoming principal cello of the New... 1948 Dean Dixon Dean Dixon Charles Dean Dixon was an American conductor.Dixon was born in New York City, where he later studied conducting with Albert Stoessel at the Juilliard School and Columbia University. When early pursuits of conducting engagements were stifled because of racial bias , he formed his own orchestra and... 1949 Thor Johnson Thor Johnson Thor Martin Johnson was an American conductor. He was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was president of the Alpha Rho chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. He was the first recipient of the fraternity's national... 1950 Izler Solomon Izler Solomon Izler Solomon was an American orchestra conductor, active mostly in the Midwest.... 1951 Robert Whitney Robert Whitney (conductor) Robert Sutton Whitney was an American conductor and composer. He was a student of Leo Sowerby.Robert Whitney was best known for founding, on November 1937, together with the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky the Louisville Orchestra, and becoming its first conductor, a post he held until 1967... 1952 Leopold Stokowski Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski... 1953 Walter Hendl Walter Hendl Walter Hendl was an American conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:Hendl was born in West New York, New Jersey, and later went on to study with Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. From 1939 to 1941 he taught at Sarah Lawrence College in New York City... 1954 David Broekman 1955 Robert Shaw Robert Shaw (conductor) Robert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship... 1956 Victor Alessandro Victor Alessandro Victor Nicholas Alessandro was an orchestra conductor and long-time resident of San Antonio, Texas. Born in Waco, Texas, he studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Alessandro also spent a number of years in Italy during his youth where he studied with Ildebrando Pizzetti... 1957 Howard Mitchell Howard Mitchell Howard Mitchell was an American cellist and conductor. He conducted the National Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1969.... 1958 Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim... 1959 Julius Rudel Julius Rudel Julius Rudel is an American opera and orchestra conductor who emigrated to the United States from Austria at the age of 17 and studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He then forged a 35-year career with the New York City Opera, from 1944 to 1979, and was the Music... 1960 Richard Bales 1961 Richard Franko Goldman Richard Franko Goldman Richard Franko Goldman was a conductor, educator, author, music critic, and composer.After graduating from Townsend Harris High School in Queens, New York he attended Columbia University, graduating in 1930 with an A.B. . He then went to Paris to study composition with Nadia Boulanger...

1962 Guy Fraser Harrison 1963 Milton Katims Milton Katims Milton Katims was an American violist and conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony for 22 years . In that time he added more than 75 works, made recordings, premiered new pieces and led the orchestra on several tours. He expanded the orchestra's series of family and suburban... 1964 Emerson Buckley Emerson Buckley Emerson Buckley An American Orchestral conductor born in New York City. Buckley graduated from Columbia University in 1934 and made his conducting debut that same year at age 20... 1965 Jacob Avshalomov Jacob Avshalomov Jacob Avshalomov is a Jewish American composer and conductor.-Early life and education:Jacob Avshalomov was born on March 28, 1919 in Tsingtao, China. His father was Aaron Avshalomov, the Siberian-born composer known for "oriental musical materials cast in western forms and media"; his mother was... 1966 William Strickland William Strickland (conductor) William Remsen Strickland was an American conductor and organist.He served as guest conductor for the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington, D.C. during World War II... 1967 Igor Buketoff Igor Buketoff Igor Buketoff was an American conductor, arranger and teacher. He had a special affinity with Russian music and with Sergei Rachmaninoff in particular. He also strongly promoted British contemporary music, and new music in general.- Biography :Buketoff was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son... 1968 Alan Carter 1969 Frederick Fennell Frederick Fennell Frederick Fennell was an internationally recognized conductor, and one of the primary figures in promoting the wind ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and greatly affected the field of music education in the USA and abroad... 1970 Gunther Schuller Gunther Schuller Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :... 1971 Maurice Abravanel Maurice Abravanel Maurice Abravanel was aSwiss-American Jewish conductor of classical music. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years.-Life:... 1972 Louis Lane Louis Lane Louis Lane is an American conductor.Louis Gardner Lane was born in Eagle Pass, Texas. He studied composition with Kent Kennan at the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor’s in music degree in 1943, and with Bohuslav Martinů at the Tanglewood Music Center , and with Bernard... 1973 Stanisław Skrowaczewski 1974 Lukas Foss Lukas Foss Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs... 1975 Antal Doráti Antal Doráti Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:... 1976 José Serebrier José Serebrier José Serebrier is a Uruguayan conductor and composer. He married American soprano Carole Farley in 1969.- Youth :Serebrier was born in Montevideo, and first conducted an orchestra at the age of eleven, while at school. The school orchestra toured the country, which meant he was able to notch up... 1977 Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five... 1978 Gregg Smith Gregg Smith Singers The Gregg Smith Singers is a mixed chorus from the United States, directed by Gregg Smith . The group, which comprises 16 singers, was founded at an all-Japanese Methodist church in West Los Angeles, California in 1955, while Smith was studying for his master's degree in music at the University of...

1979 Sergiu Comissiona Sergiu Comissiona Sergiu Comissiona was a Romanian conductor and violinist.-Early life:... 1980 James A. Dixon 1981 Michael Charry 1982 Russell Patterson 1983 Julius Hegyi Julius Hegyi -Reviews:John Rockwell wrote in the New York Times "...it can be flatly said that the best performance was Mr. Hegyi's account of Barber's one-movement symphony, which had its premiere in 1936, was revised in 1944 and championed by Artur Rodzinski and Bruno Walter... 1984 Leonard Slatkin Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,... 1985 Jorge Mester Jorge Mester Jorge Mester is a Mexican conductor of Hungarian ancestry.-Biography:He studied conducting with Jean Morel at the Juilliard School in New York, and worked with Leonard Bernstein at the Berkshire Music Center and with Albert Wolff... 1986 Efrain Guigui 1987 Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies is an American conductor and pianist. He studied piano and conducting at the Juilliard School where he received his doctorate... 1988 Lawrence Leighton Smith Lawrence Leighton Smith Lawrence Leighton Smith, a conductor and pianist, was born April 8, 1936 in Portland, Oregon.He studied piano with Ariel Rubstein in Portland and Leonard Shure in New York. He earned bachelor's degrees from Portland State University in 1956 and Mannes College of Music in 1959... 1989 Gerard Schwarz Gerard Schwarz Gerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005... 1990 Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of... 1991 Christopher Keene Christopher Keene Christopher Keene was an American conductor.Born in Berkeley, California, Keene studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Associated with the Spoleto Festival from 1968 , he was co-founder of the Spoleto Festival USA, where he was Music Director from 1977 to 1980... 1992 Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conductor.Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin... 1993 Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:... 1994 Gerhard Samuel 1995 Gustav Meier Gustav Meier Gustav Meier is the director of the Orchestra Conducting Program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He is also Music Director of the in Connecticut.-Biography:...

1996 James Bolle 1997 David Zinman David Zinman David Zinman is an American conductor and violinist.After early violin studies at the Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota and took up conducting at Tanglewood... 1998 JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta is an American classical musician and orchestral conductor.Falletta was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard School in New York City... 1999 Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi is a German conductor of Hungarian ancestry.- Youth and World War II :Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to jurist Hans von Dohnányi and Christine Bonhoeffer. His uncle on his mother's side was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian/ethicist... 2000 James DePreist James DePreist James Anderson DePreist is an American conductor. One of the few African American conductors on the world stage, he is currently the director of conducting and orchestral studies at the Juilliard School and laureate music director of the Oregon Symphony.-Biography:DePreist was born in Philadelphia... 2001 Joel Sachs 2002 Edwin London 2003 David Alan Miller David Alan Miller David Alan Miller is a prominent American classical music symphony orchestra conductor, and for the past several years, the conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra.-Early career and education:... 2004 Donald Portnoy 2005 David Hoose 2006 David Robertson David Robertson (conductor) David Eric Robertson is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.-Early life:... 2007 Gil Rose Gil Rose Gil Rose is an American conductor and the founder and Artistic Director of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, a professional orchestra in the United States committed to commissioning, performing, and recording 20th- and 21st-century music.- Background :... 2008 Robert Spano Robert Spano Robert Spano is an American conductor and pianist. Since 2001 he has been Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra , and he served as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 1996 to 2004... 2009 James Levine James Levine James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has... 2010 Osmo Vänskä Osmo Vänskä Osmo Antero Vänskä is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist and composer.He started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the Turku Philharmonic . He then became the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982...