Oklahoma State University: Symphony Orchestra Director Wins National Award

Press release from Oklahoma State University:

2022-01-13

Oklahoma State University’s director of Orchestral Studies has claimed one of the top awards in his field for the second time.

Dr. Thomas Dickey has received his second Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral
Programming since coming to OSU.

The award, presented by the American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the
Performing Arts, is a national recognition of Dickey’s achievements in the field of
orchestral planning. It’s presented to directors whose selection of repertoire “builds
orchestras and audiences, educates young people and adults, and enriches the community,”
according to the American Prize’s official announcement.

This is Dickey’s second time receiving the award in the college/university division
since coming to OSU five years ago, and he said he is honored to have been chosen
again.

“Winning this award for the second time, first in 2018 and again in 2021, means the
world to me,” Dickey said. “Programming orchestral repertoire in such a way that builds
the orchestra and our audiences, educates those in attendance, and enriches the OSU
and Stillwater communities is a challenging yet incredibly rewarding task.”

He calls it a challenging task, but Dickey has clearly done it well. He said the trick
is to find a good balance of music from the pieces and composers that students need
to know and from lesser-known composers that students and audience members may not
have heard before. This gives people an opportunity to experience a variety of new
music, and it’s part of what encourages people to keep coming to listen to the orchestra.

Dickey’s repertoire selection also serves another purpose. When selecting lesser-known
works, he likes to pull music from a variety of places, particularly from historically
underrepresented composers. In this way, Dickey said he uses the orchestra to promote
diversity and lift up underrepresented composers.

“Diversity is one of the core values of this great institution,” Dickey said. “For
me, music is one of the best ways we can show that we truly respect and value the
diversity of everyone, their beliefs, and their opinions. The OSU Symphony Orchestra
frequently performs music by historically underrepresented composers.

“For example, in 2019, in honor of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which gave
women the right to vote, we performed the music of Emma Lou Diemer, Lita Grier and
Alice Mary Smith. We celebrated the 55th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act by performing
music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Clarence Cameron White and Florence Price.”

Dickey said winning the Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award again is validating because
it recognizes that the orchestra promoting diversity has value. Additionally, he said
it adds to the prestige and national level of excellence that the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music is trying to build.

For more information about the OSU Symphonic Orchestra and future performances, visit
mcknightcenter.org.

Story By:
Ellie Melero | emelero@okstate.edu

This press release was produced by Oklahoma State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.