Nominations for the 2017 GRAMMY Music Educator Awards are now open at www.grammymusicteacher.com. The deadline is March 15, 2016.
The GRAMMY Foundation announced the semifinalists for the 2016 GRAMMY Music Educator Award, and 19 of the 25 teachers honored are members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), based in Reston, VA.
This year, more than 4,500 nominations were submitted nationwide. The 25 semifinalists come from 25 cities across 15 states. The list will be whittled down to 10 finalists in December, each of whom will receive a $1,000 honorarium as well as matching grants for their schools.
The lucky winner will be flown to Los Angeles during Grammy Week in February to accept the award, attend the Grammy Award ceremony, and receive a $10,000 honorarium.
The 2015 recipient, band director Jared Cassedy of Windam High School in New Hampshire, said the Grammys was more than a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” A NAfME member, Cassedy also said the award gives him a chance to further arts advocacy, and it still serves as a reminder of his role in the “greater cause of music education.”
A majority of the 2016 Quarterfinalists were NAFME members as well.
CBS News announced the 2016 semifinalists on October 5. NAfME members are indicated below with an asterisk:
Bonnie Anderson, Coronado Village Elementary School, Universal City, Texas
*Ben Case, Northwood High School, Irvine, California
Caleb Chapman, Pioneer High School for the Performing Arts, American Fork, Utah
*Joyce Click, North Central High School, Indianapolis, Indiana
*James Russell Cooper, Henry County High School, New Castle, Kentucky
Mike Dana, Fresno City College, Fresno, California
*Krista Fanning, Caddo Middle Magnet, Shreveport, Louisiana
*Anne Fennell, Mission Vista High School, Oceanside, California
*Doreen Fryling, South Side High School, Rockville Centre, New York
*Frank Gawle, Wilton High School, Wilton, Connecticut
Alan Guckian, Eastside Memorial High School, Austin, Texas
Keith Hancock, Tesoro High School, Rancho Santa Margarita, California
*Peter Holsberg, The Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn, New York
*Kathryn Ingerson, Thousand Islands High/Middle School, Clayton New York
*Darren McCoy, Oak Harbor High School, Oak Harbor, Washington
*Richard McCready, River Hill High School, Clarksville, Maryland
*DiAnne Mott, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville Central District, St. Johnsville,New York
*Timothy Powell, Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, Augusta, Georgia
*Penelope Quesada, Lincoln Elementary School, Louisville, Kentucky
Ulli Reiner, Poway Unified School District, San Diego, California
*Phillip Riggs, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, N.C.
*Bill Swick, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Las Vegas, Nevada
*Brayer Teague, Downers Grove North High School, Downers Grove, Illinois
*Linda Versprille, Cane Bay High School, Summerville, South Carolina
*Lois Wiggins, Edythe J. Hayes Middle School, Lexington Kentucky
Roz Fehr, NAfME Communications Content Developer, October 5, 2015. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org).
