In 1991, Nelson was awarded the Acuff Chair of Excellence in the Creative Arts, the first musician to hold the chair. His Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H) was the first piece to win all three major wind band composition prizes during one period — the National Band Association Prize, the American Bandmasters AssociationOstwald Award, and the Sudler International Prize. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 1994. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oklahoma City University.[3]
Conductor Leonard Slatkin described Ron Nelson as a "quintessential American composer". He noted:[5]
...he has the ability to move between conservative and newer styles with ease. The fact that he's a little hard to categorize is what makes him interesting.
Nelson resided with his wife, Michele, in Scottsdale, Arizona. He died on December 24, 2023, at the age of 94.
1977 Four Pieces After The Seasons for mixed chorus
1981 Mass of Saint LaSalle for mixed chorus, organ, mallet instruments, pianos, and percussion
1982 Three Nocturnal Pieces for mixed chorus, solo viola, piano and percussion
1983 Three Settings of the Moon for women's chorus (SA), piano, marimba, and glockenspiel
1989 Three Pieces After Tennyson for mixed chorus or TTBB
2002 Proclaim this Day for Music for mixed chorus, brass, and percussion
2005 Let Us Find A Meadow
Referencesedit
^Bly, Leon J. (2024). "Ron Nelson". A History of the Music for Wind Band. Vol. 1. LIT Verlag. p. 718. ISBN 978-3-643-91654-9.
^Butterworth, Neil (2013). "Nelson, Ron(Ald Jack)". Dictionary of American Classical Composers (Second ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203953402. ISBN 978-0-203-95340-2.
^Slaubaugh, Thomas (2004). "Ron Nelson". In Salzman, Timothy (ed.). A Composer's Insight. Vol. 2. Meredith Music. pp. 138–152. ISBN 978-1-5746-3034-3.
^Peterson, Stephen (June 1994). "Profile of Composer Ron Nelson". The Instrumentalist. Vol. 48, no. 11. p. 49.
^Rivero, Enrique (February 19, 1996). "Composer's Music To Go National: T.O. Resident Creating Work About Kennedy". Los Angeles Daily News. p. 1.