22 of the 2027 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™ Semifinalists Are NAfME Members

Announcing the 25 Selected Semifinalists

The Recording Academy™ and GRAMMY Museum® have announced the 25 semifinalists for the 2027 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™. More than 2,000 initial nominations were submitted from 177 cities; semifinalists were selected from 25 cities across 12 states. NAfME is excited to announce that 22* of the 25 GRAMMY semifinalists are current members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). NAfME congratulates each of these inspiring, dedicated, and noteworthy music educators.

* This number reflects those whose memberships were current at the time of this announcement and is subject to change.

Presented annually by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, the Music Educator Award honors educators 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.

The Music Educator Award is open to current U.S. music teachers. Anyone can nominate a teacher, including students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators. Teachers can also nominate themselves. All nominated teachers are notified and invited to submit an application.

Nominations for the 2028 Music Educator Award are now open through March 15 for teachers, students, and the public to nominate a music educator who inspires them, with applications due March 31, 2027. Music educators do not need to be nominated to qualify or apply for the Music Educator Award.

• Justin Antos†, Dwight D. Eisenhower High School, Blue Island, Illinois
• Marcos Carreras†, Conservatory of The Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts
• Ernesta Chicklowski†, Roosevelt Elementary School, Tampa, Florida
• Michael Coelho, Ipswich High School, Ipswich, Massachusetts
• Marissa Guarriello†, University of Texas Austin, Austin, Texas
• Amanda Hanzlik, Edwin O. Smith High School, Storrs, Connecticut
• Roland Hatcher†, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Illinois
• Lisa Sunset Holt, Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, Texas
• Rachel Jayson†, Lexington High School, Lexington, Massachusetts
• Dominique Lane†, Crisp County High School, Cordele, Georgia
• Drew Lewis†, Ramón C. Cortines School of VAPA, Los Angeles, California
• Stefano Marchese†, Eliot K-8 Innovation School, Boston, Massachusetts
• Michael McCabe†, Lake Highland Preparatory School, Orlando, Florida
• Kevin McDonald†, Wellesley High School, Wellesley, Massachusetts
• Angela McKenna†, Classen School of Advanced Studies @ Northeast High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Ailisa Newhall†, Canyon Park Middle School, Bothell, Washington
• Bill Podolski†, H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, Arlington, Virginia
• Alberto Rodriguez†, Mount Vernon High School, Alexandria, Virginia
• Edgar Rubio†, Gulliver Prep School, Coral Gables, Florida
• Emily Saenz†, Benbrook Middle/High School, Fort Worth, Texas
• Rebecca Saltzman†, Simsbury High School, Simsbury, Connecticut
• Jordyn Satterfield†, Quioccasin Middle School, Richmond, Virginia
• Cameron Siegal†, George H. Potter School, Dartmouth, Massachusetts
• Miriam Vazquez†, Duane D. Keller Middle School, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Krystal Williams†, Suitland High School, District Heights, Maryland

† Denotes NAfME member

The 2027 GRAMMY Music Educator Award honoree, selected out of the ten finalists, will receive a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for their school’s music program, and be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2027 at the 69th GRAMMY Awards®. The nine additional finalists will each receive a $1,000 honorarium with matching school grants. Fifteen semifinalists will also receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants. Read a list of the quarterfinalists featuring NAfME members.

Finalists will be announced in November.

The American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.

Eleven of the previous thirteen GRAMMY Music Educator honorees, Kent Knappenberger, Jared Cassedy, Phillip Riggs, Keith Hancock, Melissa Salguero, Jeffery Redding, Mickey Smith Jr., Pamela Dawson, Annie Ray, Adrian Maclin, and Jennifer Jimenez—the 2026 GRAMMY Music Educator Award recipient—are NAfME members. The 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award recipient is Jeffrey Murdock, associate professor of music at the University of Arkansas, and the 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award recipient is Stephen Cox, band director at Eastland High School in Eastland, Texas.

Read more information about the GRAMMY Music Educator Award. Best wishes to the semifinalists for the 2027 award!