Applications for the fourth annual Music Educator Award™ are currently online; to nominate a teacher, visit GRAMMYMusicTeacher.com. The deadline to nominate a teacher is March 15, 2016, while the deadline for applications is March 31, 2016.
The award is open to current U.S. music teachers, and anyone can nominate a teacher — students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators. Teachers are also able to nominate themselves. Nominated teachers will be notified and invited to fill out an application.
The Music Educator Award application process will adjust each year to allow the broad array of effective teaching styles and methods used in the discipline to be recognized and awarded.
Phillip Riggs of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, N.C., was announced as the recipient of the 2016 Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy® and the GRAMMY Foundation®. Nine other music teachers from nine cities across eight states were selected as finalists for the award. In total, more than 4,500 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states.
The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators (kindergarten through college, public and private schools) who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools.
Each year, one recipient will be selected from 10 finalists and will be recognized for his/her remarkable impact on students’ lives. The fourth annual winner will be flown to the host city of the GRAMMY Awards to be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2017. The winner will also attend the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards® ceremony, and a range of GRAMMY Foundation events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. 15 semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants. The honorariums and grants provided to the finalists and schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Foundation’s Education Champions Converse, Disney Performing Arts, Ford Motor Company Fund, and Journeys. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, the NAMM Foundation, and the National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.
