None of his pieces are on the UIL list, so that keeps a good contingent of people who might play it for contest out of the pile there. (Especially here in Texas) I remember doing several of his pieces about the same time as you in college when my director was on a Melillo kick. As much as they had fun moments, and were great effect pieces, I can only think of one melody from them in my head without going back and listening. (Erich!) I think that's a big part of whether pieces stand the test of time personally.

We may see like many classics that the music comes back, but it's very much like you don't see a ton of people playing Robert W. Smith's the Divine Comedy anymore. Composers very much come in fads/waves, and it's usually only the real classics that get brought back over and over again. You also have a significant uptick I think in production from composers/publishers in the last ten to fifteen years of other options.