Nancy H. Seward

Nancy H. Seward (1930-2004) was one of the truly outstanding music teacher/educators in the Midwest. Her understanding of young players and her approach to teaching through good music make her compositions particularly useful for young bands. Her selections in the Achievement Series are among the best ‘teaching pieces’ for young musicians. Born on August 9, 1930, in Henryetta, Oklahoma, Seward grew up in Lincoln, Illinois. She studied at Central Methodist College (Fayette, Missouri) where she received her Bachelor of Music Education cum laude, and did graduate work at the University of Michigan, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. She taught instrumental music in elementary and secondary schools in Leavenworth, Kansas, as well as Excelsior Springs, Hickman Mills, Richmond and Polo, Missouri, and at Central Methodist College, where she received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1978. She was also the recipient of the Missouri Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame Award in 1993. After 38 years of teaching, she was active as a clinician, adjudicator and composer, with more than 30 published band works. Her compositions appear on the festival lists of at least five states and in Japan.