Twenty-five music teachers have today been announced as semifinalists for the Music Educator Award, an annual award, presented by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, that supports and celebrates music education and music educators across the U.S. The 25 semifinalists, who hail from 25 cities across 17 states, were selected from a pool of more than 2,000 initial nominations from across all 50 U.S. states. Finalists will be announced in December, and the ultimate recipient of the 2024 Music Educator Award will be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2024, days ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs.
Nominations for the 2025 Music Educator Award are now open.
Presented by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, the Music Educator Award recognizes current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the music education field and demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. The Award is open to current U.S. music teachers. Anyone can nominate a teacher — students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators — while teachers are also able to nominate themselves; nominated teachers are notified and invited to fill out an application.
Each year, the recipient of the Music Educator Award, selected from 10 finalists, receives a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for their school's music program. The nine additional finalists receive a $1,000 honorarium and matching grants. The remaining 15 semifinalists, among the group announced today, will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.
The Music Educator Award program, including honorariums, is made possible by the generosity and support of the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.
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The full list of the 2024 Music Educator Award semifinalists is as follows:
| Name | School | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dawn Amthor | Wallkill Senior High School | Wallkill | New York |
| Jeremy Bartunek | Greenbriar School | Northbrook | Illinois |
| William Bennett | Cane Bay High School | Summerville | South Carolina |
| Meg Byrne | Pleasant Valley High School | Bettendorf | Iowa |
| Ernesta Chicklowski | Roosevelt Elementary | Tampa | Florida |
| Michael Coelho | Ipswich Middle and High School | Ipswich | Massachusetts |
| Drew Cowell | Belleville East High School | Belleville | Illinois |
| Marci DeAmbrose | Lincoln Southwest High School | Lincoln | Nebraska |
| Antoine Dolberry | P.S. 103x Hector Fontanez | Bronx | New York |
| Jasmine Fripp | KIPP Nashville Collegiate High School | Nashville | Tennessee |
| J.D. Frizzell | Briarcrest Christian School | Eads | Tennessee |
| Amanda Hanzlik | E.O. Smith High School | Storrs | Connecticut |
| Michael Lapomardo | Shrewsbury High School | Shrewsbury | Massachusetts |
| Ashleigh McDaniel Spatz | Rising Starr Middle School | Fayetteville | Georgia |
| Kevin McDonald | Wellesley High School | Wellesley | Massachusetts |
| Coty Raven Morris | Portland State University | Portland | Oregon |
| Trevor Nicholas | Senn Arts at Nicholas Senn High School | Chicago | Illinois |
| Vicki Nichols | Grandview Elementary | Grandview | Texas |
| Annie Ray | Annandale High School | Annandale | Virginia |
| Bethany Robinson | Noblesville High School | Noblesville | Indiana |
| Danni Schmitt | Roland Park Elementary/Middle School | Baltimore | Maryland |
| Kevin Schoenbach | Oswego High School | Oswego | Illinois |
| Matthew Shephard | Meridian Early College High School | Sanford | Michigan |
| Alice Tsui | New Bridges Elementary | Brooklyn | New York |
| Tammy Yi | Chapman University | Orange | California |
Learn more about the Music Educator Award and apply to the 2025 Music Educator Award program now.
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