Bhumibol retired from public performances in the 1980s. In 1986, he trained an amateur brass band made up of Thai rural development workers named "Development Friends".A committee screens requests for public performances of Bhumibol's compositions, believing that his music should not be rearranged or altered. In 2003, the University of North Texas College of Music awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Music. Bhumibol was the first Asian composer awarded honorary membership of Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.