Most Outstanding Musician Award – State of Texas Jazz
Festival, 1956
Teaching Fellowship – North Texas University, 1959-62
Best Composition Award – Notre Dame Jazz Festival, 1961
Teaching Assistantship – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), 1965-66
Faculty Fellowship, for composing – UIUC, summer 1968
Summer Instructional Award Grant, to develop a new theory-history undergraduate program – UIUC, summer 1970
ASCAP Composition Awards, annually from 1971 – present
Fromm Foundation Scholarship to Bennington Composer’s Conference, summer 1971
Faculty Fellowship, for composing – UIUC, summer 1972
Center for Advanced Study, for a year’s leave to compose –
UIUC, 1972-73
National Endowment for the Arts, summer 1974
National Endowment for the Arts, summer 1976
Meet the Composer, for three appearances at three northeastern universities, September-October 1977
MacDowell Colony Fellowship, fall 1980
University Scholar Travel Fund Grants, 1980 through 1985, March 1988, May 1990
Meet the Composer, New York NY, March 1981
MacDowell Fellowship, fall 1981
Meet the Composer – New York University, New York, NY,
June 15, 1984
National Endowment for the Arts, 1985
Meet the Composer – Cleveland OH, October 14, 1985
Meet the Composer, New York, NY, February, 4, 1986
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, March 1 to September 30, 1987
Meet the Composer, Tampa FL, spring 1988
The International Rostrum of Composers – one of three composers in the USA whose work, Ray’s in the Window: GAMAN, was broadcast internationally, 1988
Meet the Composer, New York NY, spring 1990
Center for Advanced Study, UIUC, August 1991 – May 1992
Ragdale Foundation Artist Residency, Lake Forest IL, October-November 1991
American Music Center, NYC, 1992
UIUC Research Board, to record Red White and Black Blues for New World Recording Company, 1992
UIUC Research Board, to produce CD of Powell’s works for Einstein Records, 1992-1993
Ragdale Foundation Artist Residency, Lake Forest IL, April 1993
University Scholar Travel Fund, UIUC, 1993
UIUC Research Board, to produce a CD of Powell’s music, 1994
Ragdale Foundation Artist Residency, Lake Forest IL,
February 1994
Ucross Foundation Artist Residency, Clearmont, WY, November-December 1994
Ragdale Foundation Artist Residency, Lake Forest IL, January-February 1995
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, Finalist, 1996
Ragdale Foundation Artist Residencies, Lake Forest IL,
annually: 1996-2005
UIUC Research Board, to record and/or produce CD’s of Powell’s music 1993-2004
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, 1999
Pulitzer Prize Nomination for The Waterclown, 2000
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, 2001
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, 2003
Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, 2006
