NAfME BLOG
Eight of Ten GRAMMY Music Educator Award Finalists for 2025 Are NAfME Members
Eight of Ten GRAMMY Music Educator Award Finalists for 2025 Are NAfME Members
The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum® announced ten finalists for the 2025 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™, and eight of the ten are members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)*. More than 2,400 initial nominations were submitted from 49 states; semifinalists were selected from 24 cities across 14 states. NAfME congratulates each and every one of these inspiring, dedicated, and noteworthy music educators.
Here are this year’s finalists. NAfME members are highlighted in bold.*
| Justin Antos | Eisenhower High School | Blue Island | Illinois |
| Stephen Blanco | Las Vegas High School | Las Vegas | Nevada |
| Ethan Chessin | Camas High School | Camas | Washington |
| J. D. Frizzell | Briarcrest Christian School | Eads | Tennessee |
| Bernie Hendricks, Jr. | Ocoee High School | Ocoee | Florida |
| Jennifer Jimenez | South Miami Sr. High School | Miami | Florida |
| Adrian L. Maclin | Cordova High School | Memphis | Tennessee |
| Coty Raven Morris | Portland State University | Portland | Oregon |
| Matthew Shephard | Meridian Early College High School | Sanford | Michigan |
| Katie Silcott | Olentangy Shanahan Middle School | Lewis Center | Ohio |
* This number reflects those whose memberships were current at the time of this announcement and is subject to change.
The 2025 GRAMMY Music Educator, selected out of the ten, will receive a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for their school’s music program, and be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2025. 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. Here are the semifinalists with NAfME members noted.
The Music Educator Award program, including honorariums, is supported by 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.
Nine of the previous eleven GRAMMY Music Educator honorees, Kent Knappenberger, Jared Cassedy, Phillip Riggs, Keith Hancock, Melissa Salguero, Jeffery Redding, Mickey Smith Jr., Pamela Dawson, and Annie Ray—the 2024 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.
More information about the GRAMMY Music Educator Award is available here.
Nominations for the 2026 Music Educator Award are open for both teachers, students, and the public to nominate a music educator who inspires them. Nominations are due March 15, 2025, and applications are due March 31, 2025.
Congratulations and best wishes to the finalists!
