Gladys Stone Wright

The band world lost one of its most significant female trailblazers on October 29, 2025.  Gladys Stone Wright spent most of her 100 years paving the way for women band directors. Born on March 8, 1925, in Wasco, Oregon, Gladys began her musical path with a year of free piano lessons and a five-dollar clarinet. She graduated from Oregon’s Lebanon High School in 1943, studied at Willamette University, and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Oregon, with a minor in psychology. Her principal instrument was the clarinet.

At a time when few women were appointed to lead school bands, Gladys became a true pioneer. She directed ensembles at Elmira Union High School (Oregon), Otterbein High School (Indiana), and Klondike High School and William Henry Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. Across more than three decades of teaching, her large ensembles earned more than 60 superior ratings, while her solo and small ensembles received over 1,500 superior ratings at district and state contests. Her Otterbein High School performed at the prestigious Midwest Clinic, which was a major accomplishment for a small school from rural Indiana.

Gladys was the second woman elected to the American School Band Directors Association and, in 1984, became the first woman elected to the American Bandmasters Association and the second to become a Life Member. She also served the Sousa Foundation in many administrative roles and was the first woman guest conductor of both the United States Navy Band and the Goldman Band. Her artistry, leadership, and advocacy made her a model of excellence for generations of women in the profession.

In 1969, she founded the Women Band Directors National Association (WBDNA)—now known as Women Band Directors International (WBDI)—to promote mentorship and leadership opportunities for women in the band profession. She later served as editor of WBDI’s The Woman Conductor and remained deeply involved in WBDI activities throughout her life. She was inducted into the WBDI Hall of Fame in 1995, and today, the Gladys Stone Wright Scholarship continues to support women pursuing careers as band directors.

Her dedication to mentorship extended to the creation of the United States Collegiate Wind Band, which she and her husband, Dr. Al G. Wright, formed to showcase talented high school and college musicians through extensive international concert tours—building international goodwill and representing American wind performance.

Gladys’s remarkable list of honors includes:
· National Band Association Citation of Excellence (1969)
· Tau Beta Sigma National Award for Service to Music (1971)
· Phi Beta Mu Honorary Membership (first woman, 1973)
· Sudler Order of Merit and Gold Medal, John Philip Sousa Foundation
· National Band Association Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors (first woman, 1999)
· Women Band Directors International Hall of Fame (1995)

She was also recognized with awards from the North Dakota Peace Gardens, International Music Tours, and the Indiana Governor’s Sagamore of the Wabash, among many others.

Gladys was married to her great love, Al G. Wright for 67 years. Al was widely known as the Director of Bands at Purdue University from 1954 to 1981. Gladys served Purdue by mentoring countless female Boilermaker band members and serving as an advisor and chaperone for the twirlers and majorettes. Al Wright elevated the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band to national and worldwide notoriety. With that said, Al and Gladys were a true “power couple “, with both having highly respected careers in the band profession. Their enduring partnership—celebrated in the joint biography The Music Makers—inspired generations of musicians, teachers, and conductors.

In later years, Gladys and Al Wright remained active in the Sousa Foundation, Wolf Park, and the Band Museum in Lafayette, Indiana. The American Bandmasters Association Research Center at the University of Maryland has honored her extraordinary life with a special exhibit and video tribute, Gladys Stone Wright: Promoting Women on the Band Podium. This display honors Gladys as a founder of Women Band Directors International and a lifelong mentor to band educators everywhere.

Gladys Stone Wright’s life was defined by courage, excellence, and the conviction that music education must reflect the full diversity of those who teach and perform it. Her legacy continues to uplift and inspire the broader band world she so passionately loved and served.

Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, Murvel and Daisy Stone, brother Michael Holiday, and sisters Georgia Bolman and Elva Keller, stepdaughter Cynthia Williams and beloved husband Al G. Wright. She is survived by a sister, Carol Stone Willavage, her brother Murvel Stone and his wife Beverly, 12 nephews and nieces and over 25 great nephews and nieces. Stepdaughter Adele Needham and husband Ron, 4 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.  She also leaves behind a niece and attentive caregiver, Nikki Jo Kehoe.

Visitation will be from 5:00pm to 8:00 pm on Friday, November 14, 2025, at Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twyckenham Blvd.  Visitation will also be from 9:30 am until the time of the service at 10:30 am on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel.  A livestream of the service will be on Gladys’s obituary page at www.soller-baker.com.  Interment will be at Spring Vale Cemetery in Lafayette.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial gift to Wildcat Creek Wildlife Center—a cause dear to Gladys at 4709 N. 400 W., Delphi, IN 46923.