Band Composers

Lately, I have been doing a bit of "research" on Steve Bryant and John Mackey. ("Research" means hours on hours of listening to several pieces over and over again.) I am very impressed with their work. 
Bryant brings to the table his incredible electronics, great emotional variety, and a great command of orchestration. Mackey brings an "outside-the-box" mentality, with great unusual colors, stunningly inventive orchestration, and melodies and harmonies of intense appeal. 
How I can get any better without sounding like Bryant or Mackey, or Reed or McBeth or Persichetti, for that matter, is a mystery to me.