More than Half of the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™ Semifinalists Are NAfME Members

Announcing the 25 Selected Semifinalists

Recently, the GRAMMY Museum® announced its 25 semifinalists for the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™. More than 1,989 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states; semifinalists were selected from 24 cities across 16 states. NAfME is delighted to announce that 16* of the 25 GRAMMY semifinalists are active members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). From band and orchestra directors to choral conductors and elementary school general music teachers, NAfME congratulates each of these inspiring, dedicated, and driven music educators.

The GRAMMY Music Educator Award was first introduced to highlight the meaningful work done daily by thousands of music educators across the United States, from kindergarten to college, from public to private schools. Teachers honored with this award have made clear contributions to music education, and have committed to the cause of preserving and maintaining music education in schools. The award is a partnership and joint presentation of The Recording Academy^TM and the GRAMMY Museum.

Here are this year’s semifinalists. NAfME members are highlighted in bold.

 

Bonnie	Anderson	Miller’s Point Elementary School	San Antonio	TX
Justin	Antos	Dwight D. Eisenhower High School	Frankfort	IL
Elizabeth	Bennett	Buffalo Grove High School	Libertyville	IL
Angela	Carpenter	Harrington Elementary School	Bedford	MA
Stephen	Cox	Eastland High School	Eastland	TX
Pamela	Dawson	DeSoto High School	DeSoto	TX
Brad	Drinkwater	Connetquot High School	Nesconset	NY
Paul	Eaton	Girard College	Lafayette Hill	PA
Michelle	Folta	Columbus State University	Columbus	GA
Amanda	Hanzlik	Edwin O. Smith High School	Storrs	CT
Elizabeth	Hering	Churchill High School	Livonia	MI
Graham	Johnson	Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS)	New York	NY
Chris	Maunu	Arvada West High School	Arvada	CO
Richard	Maxwell	Arcadia High School	Phoenix	AZ
Brian	McMath	Northwest Guilford High School	Greensboro	NC
Shawna	Mendez	The Manning School of Academics and Arts	Lakewood	CO
Patricia	Moore	Canyon View Elementary School	Tucson	AZ
Ryan	Muir	South Kingstown High School	Wakefield	RI
Jeffrey	Murdock	The University of Arkansas	Fayetteville	AR
Blake	Richter	Nixa Junior High School	Nixa	MO
Kimberly	Ritzer	Green Valley High School	Henderson	NV
Lynne	Ruda	Lancaster High School	Lancaster	NY
Matthew	Trevino	Roan Forest Elementary	San Antonio	TX
Donald	Walter	Northwest Guilford Middle and High Schools	Oak Ridge	NC
Tracy	Williamson	Gorham Middle School	Gorham	ME

 

The ten finalists will be announced in December. 

The 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator, 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 2021. 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.

The honorariums and grants provided to the finalists and schools are made possible through the support of the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund. Outreach for this program has been assisted by the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association.

All seven of the previous GRAMMY Music Educator honorees—Kent Knappenberger, Jared Cassedy, Phillip Riggs, Keith Hancock, Melissa Salguero, Jeffery Redding, and Mickey Smith Jr.—are NAfME members.

More information about the GRAMMY Music Educator Award is available here. Nominations for the 2022 Music Educator Award are open for both teachers, students, and the public to nominate a music educator that inspires them today. Best wishes to the semifinalists! 

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

October 15, 2020. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)