Nearly Half of the 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator Award^TM Quarterfinalists Are NAfME Members

The Music Educator Award Is Presented by
The Recording Academy^TM and the GRAMMY Museum^®

The Recording Academy™ and GRAMMY Museum^® has announced 207 quarterfinalists for the 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™, and of that number, 89 are currently members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)*. Nominations from 180 cities were submitted. In addition to the quarterfinalists, 125 legacy applicants from 2022 will also be eligible to win the award this year, and of that number, 60 are currently members of NAfME*. From elementary general music teachers to band directors, choral conductors, string teachers, and college professors, NAfME congratulates these exemplary, dedicated music educators.

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. The recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2023, which takes place ahead of the 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards.

The tenth honoree will also be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 65th GRAMMY Awards® and a range of GRAMMY Week events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. Additionally, 15 semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants, all made possible by the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund. The National Association for Music Education supports this program through outreach to music education supporters.

Semifinalists will be announced later this year.

Seven of the previous nine GRAMMY Music Educator honorees, Kent Knappenberger, Jared Cassedy, Phillip Riggs, Keith Hancock, Melissa Salguero, Jeffery Redding, and Mickey Smith Jr. are NAfME members. The 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award recipient was Jeffrey Murdock, associate professor of music at the University of Arkansas. The 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award recipient was Stephen Cox, band director at Eastland High School in Eastland, Texas.

Learn more about the Music Educator Award^TM process, and nominate a music educator by March 15.

Below is a list of NAfME members who have been named quarterfinalists for the 2023 Music Educator Award. Click here for the full list of 207 quarterfinalists.

Brandon	Kiesgen	Perry High School	Gilbert	Arizona
Tracy	Meldrum	Verrado High School	Buckeye	Arizona
Aaron	Vogel	Mountain Ridge High School	Glendale	Arizona
Sarah	Labovitz	Arkansas State University	Jonesboro	Arkansas
John	Burn	Homestead High School	Cupertino	California
Lawrence	Stoffel	California State University, Northridge	Los Angeles	California
Alexis	True	Thomas Downey High School	Modesto	California
Jasmine	Faulkner	Polaris Expeditionary Learning School	Fort Collins	Colorado
Wayne	Splettstoeszer	Torrington High School	Torrington	Connecticut
Heather	Akers	Central Middle School	Dover	Delaware
John	Gordon	Odessa High School	Townsend	Delaware
Jeffrey	Leager	Central Middle School	Dover	Delaware
Ryan	Moseley	Appoquinimink High School	Middletown	Delaware
Joshua	Krohn	Brent Elementary School	Washington	District of Columbia
Heather	Bice	Ridgeview High School	Orange Park	Florida
Alexander	Busby	Oviedo High School	Oviedo	Florida
Ernesta	Chicklowski	Roosevelt Elementary	Tampa	Florida
Jessica	Gronberg	Hawkes Bluff Elementary	Davie	Florida
Shelby	Montgomery	George Jenkins High School	Lakeland	Florida
Marcos	Rodriguez	Avant Garde Academy of Broward	Hollywood	Florida
Kaitlynn	Tobias	Lake Asbury Elementary School	Green Cove Springs	Florida
Gregory	Urban	Dunedin Highland Middle School	Dunedin	Florida
Ashleigh	Spatz	Burgess Peterson Elementary	Atlanta	Georgia
David	Starnes	Kennesaw Mountain High School	Kennesaw	Georgia
Jonathan	Steltzer	Wayne County High School	Jesup	Georgia
Elizabeth	Baker	Ilima Intermediate School	Ewa Beach	Hawaii
Justin	Antos	Dwight D. Eisenhower High School	Blue Island	Illinois
Bethany	Robinson	Noblesville High School	Noblesville	Indiana
Heather	Dipasquale	Todd County Middle School	Elkton	Kentucky
Tina	Gibson	Jefferson County Traditional Middle School	Louisville	Kentucky
Kris	Milby	Greenup County High School	Greenup	Kentucky
David	Moss	West Hopkins School	Nebo	Kentucky
Emmanuel	Hudson	Booker T. Washington High School	Shreveport	Louisiana
Kylie	Teston	Leonardtown High School	Leonardtown	Maryland
Aaron	Bush	Foxborough High School	Foxborough	Massachusetts
Michael	Coelho	Ipswich High School	Ipswich	Massachusetts
Meredith	Lord	Burncoat High School	Worcester	Massachusetts
Kevin	McDonald	Wellesley High School	Wellesley	Massachusetts
Kelly	Ford	Siena Heights University	Adrian	Michigan
Cherie	Bowe	Pascagoula High School	Pascagoula	Mississippi
Tracy	Resseguie	Staley High School	Kansas City	Missouri
Jordan	Peters	Dr. E Alma Flagg School	Newark	New Jersey
Jim	Sheffer	Medford Memorial Middle School	Medford	New Jersey
Maria	Del Valle Brin	The Equity Project Charter School	New York	New York
Kristin	Howell	Syosset High School	Syosset	New York
Luis	Ingels	BASIS Independent Brooklyn	Brooklyn	New York
Hope	Lewis	Charles O. Dickerson High School	Trumansburg	New York
Brendon	Lucas	Nyack Middle School	Nyack	New York
Phillip	McMullen	Silver Creek Central Schools	Silver Creek	New York
Carrie	Pawelski	Jefferson Middle School	Jamestown	New York
Alice	Tsui	New Bridges Elementary	Brooklyn	New York
Brian	McMath	Northwest Guilford High School	Greensboro	North Carolina
Jonathan	Todd	Crestdale Middle School	Matthews	North Carolina
Tammy	White	Kiser Middle School	Greensboro	North Carolina
Jeremy	Overbeck	Century High School	Bismarck	North Dakota
David	Amos	Heritage Middle School	Painesville	Ohio
Amir	Jones	Thomas W. Harvey High School	Painesville	Ohio
Katie	Silcott	Olentangy Shanahan Middle School	Lewis Center	Ohio
Justin	Britt	Kingston Public Schools	Kingston	Oklahoma
Benjamin	Noyes	Hillsboro High School	Hillsboro	Oregon
Ryan	Bulgarelli	Loyalsock Township High School	Williamsport	Pennsylvania
Christina	Crivelli	South Fayette Intermediate School	McDonald	Pennsylvania
Alex	Gittelman	Haverford Middle School	Havertown	Pennsylvania
Deanna	Grandstaff	Cecil Intermediate School	McDonald	Pennsylvania
Allison	Kline	Northwestern Lehigh High School	New Tripoli	Pennsylvania
A.J.	Merlino	Albright College	Reading	Pennsylvania
Jenny	Neff	The University of the Arts	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania
Adam	Nobile	Big Spring High School	Newville	Pennsylvania
Ronnie	Ziccardi	Avonworth Elementary School	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania
William	Bennett	Cane Bay High School	Summerville	South Carolina
Marcus	Morris	Dorman High School	Roebuck	South Carolina
Daryl	Jessen	Dakota Valley School	North Sioux City	South Dakota
Elizabeth	Carter	Snowden School	Memphis	Tennessee
Francis	Cathlina	University of Memphis	Memphis	Tennessee
Benjamin	Easley	Nolensville High School	Nolensville	Tennessee
Marisa	Frank	Nashville Classical Charter School	Nashville	Tennessee
Jasmine	Fripp	KIPP Nashville Collegiate High School	Nashville	Tennessee
Natalie	Pratt	Brentwood High School	Brentwood	Tennessee
Bonnie	Anderson	Miller’s Point Elementary School	Converse	Texas
Thomas	Mann	W. Charles Akins Early College High School	Austin	Texas
Ær	Queen	Braddock Elementary School	Annandale	Virginia
Xochilt	Melendez Munguia	Gainesville Middle School	Gainesville	Virginia
Annie	Ray	Annandale High School	Annandale	Virginia
John	Aguilar	Robert Eagle Staff Middle School	Seattle	Washington
Melanie	Gunn	Whitman Middle School	Seattle	Washington
Jean-Marie	Kent	Roosevelt High School	Seattle	Washington
Ailisa	Newhall	Inglemoor High School	Kenmore	Washington
Eli	Lambie	Washington Lands Elementary School	Moundsville	West Virginia
Elizabeth	Steege	Case High School	Racine	Wisconsin

Below is a list of NAfME members who are among the Legacy Applicants for the 2023 Music Educator Award. Click here for the full list of 125 legacy applicants.

David	Allinder	Shades Valley High School	Birmingham	Alabama
Brandon	Benson	J. U. Blacksher School	Uriah	Alabama
Jordan	Ford	Norwood Elementary School	Birmingham	Alabama
Matt	Martindale	Shelby County High School	Columbiana	Alabama
Alicia	Mulloy	Liberty Middle School	Madison	Alabama
Ryan	Gonzales	James Monroe High School	Los Angeles	California
Shanti	Gruber	Glenwood Springs High School & Middle School	Glenwood Springs	Colorado
Robin	King	Fountain International Magnet School	Pueblo	Colorado
Michael	Linert	Westminster High School	Westminster	Colorado
Patrick	Smith	Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School	New Haven	Connecticut
Teresa	Cameron	Eastside Elementary School	Lake City	Florida
Vivian	Gonzalez	Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer	Miami	Florida
Keith	Griffis	Walter L. Sickles High School	Tampa	Florida
Monica	Leimer	DeLand High School	DeLand	Florida
Wes	Lowe	The King’s Academy	West Palm Beach	Florida
Charles	Moorer	McArthur High School	Hollywood	Florida
Sarah	Ruff	Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts	Miami	Florida
Dale	Duncan	Henderson Middle School	Atlanta	Georgia
Michael	Huebner	Kennesaw Mountain High School	Kennesaw	Georgia
Sarah	Todd	Mary Lyon Elementary School	Chicago	Illinois
Michelle	Bade	West View Elementary	Muncie	Indiana
Justin	Binek	Kansas City Kansas Community College	Kansas City	Kansas
Robert	Bertke	St. Francis School	Louisville	Kentucky
Heather	Dipasquale	Todd County Middle School	Elkton	Kentucky
Emily	Maurer	Slidell Junior High School	Slidell	Louisiana
Richard	McCready	River Hill High School	Columbia	Maryland
Marcos	Carreras	Springfield Conservatory of The Arts	Springfield	Massachusetts
Robert	Green	Lakeland High School	White Lake	Michigan
Andrew	Smigielski	Forrest County Agricultural High School	Brooklyn	Mississippi
Keely	(O’Hara) Abeln	Parkway South Middle School	Ballwin	Missouri
Dustin	Shrum	Central Visual and Performing Arts High School	St. Louis	Missouri
Cindy	Stone	Belgrade Middle School & High School	Belgrade	Montana
Eric	McAllister	Las Vegas Academy of the Arts	Las Vegas	Nevada
Robert	DeSantis	Millville High School	Millville	New Jersey
Natalie	Kerr	Bloomfield High School	Bloomfield	New Jersey
Andrew	Bennett	Fredonia High School	Fredonia	New York
Gregory	Bennett	Middletown High School	Middletown	New York
Michael	Blostein	Averill Park High School	Averill Park	New York
Nicole	Davidson	Susan E. Wiley Elementary School	Copiague	New York
Lauren	Morabito	Hendrick Hudson High School	Montrose	New York
Jason	Noble	Scarsdale High School	Scarsdale	New York
Bill	Tiberio	Fairport High School	Fairport	New York
Matthew	Brusseau	Davie County High School	Mocksville	North Carolina
Margaret	Maurice	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	Charlotte	North Carolina
Heaven	Watson-Weary	Hunter Huss High School	Gastonia	North Carolina
Tammy	White	Kiser Middle School	Greensboro	North Carolina
Christopher	Clark	Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland	Ohio
Tristianne	Asbury	Noble High School	Noble	Oklahoma
Angela	McKenna	Classen SAS @ NE High School	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma
Kevin	Longwill	Abington School District	Abington	Pennsylvania
Pamela	Lowell	Cranston High School East	Cranston	Rhode Island
Robert	Pettigrew	Westside High School	Anderson	South Carolina
Darrell	Boston	Loretto High School	Loretto	Tennessee
Brandon	Larsen	Herriman High School	Herriman	Utah
Wanda	Mitchell	Hampton High School	Hampton	Virginia
Laura	O’Konski	Liberty High School	Bealeton	Virginia
John	Aguilar	Robert Eagle Staff Middle School	Seattle	Washington
Andrew	Bowerly	Tenino High School & Middle School	Tenino	Washington
Jonathan	Boysen	Eastside Catholic School	Sammamish	Washington
William R.	Jenks	South Charleston Middle School	South Charleston	West Virginia

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

June 17, 2022. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)