Dr. Thomas E. Lyle Leadership Award

The National Leadership Award, labeled the “most prestigious award in the country for individual recognition of band members,” has recently been renamed in honor of Dr. Thomas E. Lyle.

Dr. Thomas E. Lyle was the director of bands at Alabama State University from 1964 to 1988. While Dr. Lyle broke ground in many ways, he is perhaps best remembered for his work to force recognition across racial divides. He also is credited with the rising popularity of high-stepping and double-time steps at 360 steps per minute.

Dr. Lyle passed away June 9, 2011. We hope to honor his memory by naming our highest honor after him. We can only hope that our future band leaders will have the innovative ideas, the perseverance, and the drive that Dr. Lyle will be forever remembered for.

Dr. Thomas E. Lyle Award Selection Process

The selection process for the Dr. Thomas E. Lyle Award is difficult, and anyone nominated for the award should be highly honored. To be eligible, a student must be nominated by a band director at their university. In the recommendation letter submitted with the application, the director must highlight both the student’s leadership and commitment to bands and the student’s involvement in the broader campus community. Three students are selected as finalists; twenty are chosen as semifinalists. Finalists and semifinalists have a series of interviews with the Selection Committee, made up of past winners’ directors and NCBLA staff. The interviews will occur over a period of two days. The interviews are the final determination for who receives the Dr. Thomas E. Lyle Award as well as semifinalist Honorable Mentions. One nominee will also receive the Commitment Award, chosen among the other finalists and semifinalists.

In the event a finalist cannot attend, they are disqualified and a semifinalist will be raised to finalist consideration.

Finalists

If you are one of the respected Finalists or Semifinalists for the Dr. Thomas E. Lyle Award, congratulations! Please see the link for the schedule. You will be given a personal interview schedule upon arrival in Los Angeles. Last year, we received quite a bit of feedback about our location choice for our awards banquet in Boston, Massachusetts. This year, we listened to the feedback and have chosen somewhere that will be warm through the entire week: Los Angeles!