NAfME Members Named 2026 CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence Award Semifinalists

95 NAfME Members Named
2026 CMA Foundation
Music Teachers of Excellence Award Semifinalists

On December 10, 2025, NAfME Music Education Policy Roundtable member CMA Foundation named 222 music educators as 2026 Music Teachers of Excellence (MTOE) Award semifinalists. This tenth annual recognition honors “extraordinary educators nationwide who are using the power of music to transform lives.”

CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence 2025 honorees

Next spring, the MTOE program “will honor 30 music teachers nationally, across Tennessee, and in Nashville, providing them with grants for their classrooms and tailored professional development. The CMA Foundation will host an awards ceremony in their honor at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee on October 7, 2026.”

“Access to music education should be a part of growing up in America; and we are proud to celebrate the public school teachers that are at the forefront of providing that education to students,” said Tiffany Kerns, executive director of the CMA Foundation. “Ten years ago, the music industry wanted to find a way to honor and support music education in public schools. I’m proud of the impact we’ve had to-date and cannot wait to honor another 30 public school teachers on this milestone anniversary.”

The CMA Foundation notes: “Semifinalists come from 43 states and the District of Columbia. Half of the MTOE semifinalists teach at low-income public schools. Nearly three-fourth of semifinalists have been teaching for 13 or more years; nearly four in 10 have 20+ years of teaching experience. … Semifinalists will submit footage of their instructional approach and reflections on the impact of music education on young people between Thursday, December 11, 2025, and February 19, 2026. The 30 final awardees will be announced during Teacher Appreciation Week in May 2026.”

NAfME congratulates all the recipients of this special recognition. Below are the honored music educators who are members of the National Association for Music Education.* Read the press release to learn about all the music educators named semifinalists for the 2026 award.

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