Nominations for the 2017 GRAMMY Music Educator Awards are now open at www.grammymusicteacher.com. The deadline is March 15, 2016.
The GRAMMY Foundation has announced 213 quarter-finalists for the 2016 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™ , and of that number, 122 are members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). In all, more than 4,500 initial nominations were submitted from each of the 50 states. From elementary general music teachers to band directors, choral conductors, string teachers, and college professors, NAfME congratulates these talented, dedicated music teachers.
2015 GRAMMY Music Educator Award Winner and NAfME Member Jared Cassedy:
The GRAMMY 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.
A joint partnership and presentation of The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation, this special award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony & Nominees Reception (honoring recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical GRAMMY® Award) during 2016 GRAMMY Week.
The 2016 GRAMMY Music Educator Quarter-Finalists (NAfME members indicated with an *) are:
*Diane Abrahamian, Penfield High School, Penfield N.Y.
Greg Adamson Ladera, Vista Junior High School of the Arts, Fullerton, Calif.
Christopher Alberts, The School Without Walls, Washington, D.C.
*Corey Ames, Loyola Academy, Wilmette, Ill.
Bonnie Anderson, Coronado Village Elementary, Universal City, Texas
Kathy Anderson, Highlands High School, Fort Thomas, Ky.
Neil Anderson, Murrieta Valley High School, Murrieta Calif.
*Bob Athayde, Stanley Middle School, Lafayette Calif.
*Walter Avellaneda, John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore, N.Y.
*David Bachart, New Hope-Solebury High School, New Hope, Pa.
Patricia Balmer, Edna High School, Edna, Texas
Michael Bastone, Division Avenue High School, Levittown N.Y.
Jeffrey Beck, Valley Center Middle School Valley Center Calif.
*Kenneth Bedwell, Andrews High School, Andrews S.C.
Jeff Behrens, Richland Center High School, Richland Center Wis.
*Brian Bersh, Yorktown High School, Arlington Va.
*Patrick Blackburn, Sherwood Githens, Middle School Durham N.C.
John Blickwedehl, West Seneca West High School, West Seneca N.Y.
*Stephen Bloom, Lynnfield Middle School, Lynnfield Mass.
*Jennifer Boice, Cashell Elementary School, Rockville Md.
*Benny Bolden, Estero High School, Estero Fla.
*Gwendolyn Brazier, Barnette Magnet School, Fairbanks Alaska
*Angelica Brooks, Benjamin D. Foulois Creative and Performing Arts Academy, Morningside Md.
*Christopher Brown, Sharon Elementary, Charlotte N.C.
*Debra Burnell-Wise, Pleasure Ridge Park High School, Louisville Ky.
*Aaron Bush, Pollard Middle School, Needham Mass.
*Lisa Butts, Hanford West High School, Hanford Calif.
*Elizabeth Cadigan, Nancy Gomes Elementary School, Reno Nev.
Mark Campayno, Broad Run High School Ashburn Va.
Joel Carle, Windsor High School, Windsor N.Y.
Ben Case, Northwood High School, Irvine Calif.
Brian Casey, Brazoswood High School, Clute Texas
Caleb Chapman, Pioneer High School for the Performing Arts, American Fork Utah
Juan Chattah, Frost School of Music, Coral Gables Fla.
*Brent Chiarello, Cold Spring Harbor Junior-Senior High School, Cold Spring Harbor N.Y.
*Joyce Click, North Central High School, Indianapolis Ind.
Steve Connell, MOC-Floyd Valley Senior High School, Orange City, Iowa
Russell Cooper, Henry County High School, New Castle Ky.
*James Cottone, Bayport/Blue Point High School, Bayport N.Y.
*Mark Curry, Clarke County High School Berryville Va.
Mike Dana, Fresno City College, Fresno Calif.
Steven DeCrow, Lewisville High School, Lewisville Texas
Jason DeGroff, University of New Haven, West Haven Conn.
Jamal Dickerson, Creative Arts Morgan, Village Academy Camden N.J.
*Martin Dickey, Nation Ford High School, Fort Mill S.C.
*Carol Doemel, Lassiter High School, Marietta Ga.
*Christopher Dollar, Fishers Island School, Fishers Island N.Y.
*Stephanie Drawdy, Colleton County High School Walterboro S.C.
Lee Duke, Floral Park Memorial High School, Floral Park N.Y.
*Mark Duker, Waubonsie Valley High School, Aurora Ill.
Eric Eaks, College Station High School. College Station Texas
*Charles Ebersole, Fleetwood Area High School, Fleetwood Pa.
Richard England, Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson Tenn.
*Jacob Ezzo, South Orange Middle School South Orange N.J.
Stephanie Faille, Lacey Township High School, Lanoka Harbor N.J.
*Melodie Fair, ELCO Middle School Myerstown Pa.
Matt Falker, Mira Costa College, Oceanside Calif.
*Krista Fanning, Caddo Middle Magnet, Shreveport La.
*Anne Fennell, Mission Vista High School, Oceanside Calif.
*Geneva Fitzsimonds, South View Middle School, Edina Minn.
John Flora, Franklin L. Williams Middle School #7, Jersey City N.J.
*Adria Francani, P.S. 253 Brooklyn N.Y.
*Doreen Fryling, South Side High School, Rockville Centre, N.Y.
Molly Fullerton, Mayfield Woods Middle School, Elkridge Md.
*Frank Gawle, Wilton High School, Wilton Conn.
*Chris Gleason, Patrick Marsh Middle School, Sun Prairie Wis.
*Justin Glodich, Eldred Junior Senior High School, Eldred N.Y.
Julian Gonzalez, Lilburn Middle School, Lilburn Ga.
*Vivian Gonzalez, South Miami K-8 Center Miami Fla.
*Steve Gorringe, Decatur High School, Federal Way, Wash.
*Martha Grener, West Genesee Middle School, Camillus N.Y.
Alan Guckian, Eastside Memorial High School, Austin Texas
Keith Hancock, Tesoro High School, Rancho Santa Margarita Calif.
*Elizabeth Hankins, Lakewood High School, Lakewood Ohio
*Ron Hardin, Papillion-La Vista South Hig
h School, Papillion Neb.
*Bethany Hardwick, Downing Middle School, Flower Mound Texas
*Rodney Harshbarger, Old Kings Elementary School, Flagler Beach Fla.
*Daniel Harvey, Seminole, Ridge Community High School, Loxahatchee Fla.
*Kristen Hill, Niagara, Catholic Jr./Sr. High School, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
*Judy Hilliard, Easley Year-Round Magnet Elementary School, Durham N.C.
*Peter Holsberg, The Berkeley Carroll School, Brooklyn N.Y.
Brian Ingelson, Palm Springs High School, Palm Springs Calif.
*Kathryn Ingerson, Thousand Islands High/ Middle School, Clayton N.Y.
*Brandi Jason, Liberty High School, Eldersburg Md.
*Daniel Jensen, Liberty High School, Peoria Ariz.
*Marshall Jones, Smith River School, Smith River Calif.
Chase Jordan, MacGregor Elementary School, Houston Texas
Clifford Jourdan, Kaskaskia College, Centralia Ill.
David Jumper, Marywood University, Scranton Pa.
Damien Kaplan, Springfield High School, Springfield Ill.
Randy Kapralick, University of the Arts, Philadelphia Pa.
*Daniel Kiene, Richmond Hill High School, Richmond Hill Ga.
*James Kusserow, Porterville High School, Porterville Calif.
Roxann Lahcanski, Bay Trail Middle School, Penfield N.Y.
Sharon Laird, Oak Grove High School, Hattiesburg Miss.
Dana Landry, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley Colo.
*Jacqueline Langley, Haverford Middle School, Havertown Pa.
Mark Laughlin, Georgia Southwestern State University Americus Ga.
*Brian Leisher, Bruning-Davenport USD, Bruning Neb.
*Ollie Liddell, Memphis Central High School, Memphis Tenn.
Jarrett Lipman, Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson High School, San Antonio Texas
*Miroslav Loncar, Park View High School, Sterling Va.
*Kathryn Lotocky, Fort Lauderdale High School, Fort Lauderdale Fla.
*Lorraine Lynch, Roxbury High School, Succasunna N.J.
Dean Marino, West Port High School. Ocala Fla.
Jason Marshall, West Ranch High School, Stevenson Ranch Calif.
Jennifer Maxwell, Nantucket Community Music Center, Nantucket Mass.
*Richard Maxwell, Arcadia High School, Phoenix Ariz.
*Anthony Mazzocchi, Montclair State University Montclair N.J.
*Pamela McClain, Parkersburg High School, Parkersburg W. VA
*Darren McCoy, Oak Harbor High School, Oak Harbor Wash.
*Richard McCready, River Hill High School, Clarksville Md.
*Melanie Mesiano, East Hampton ,Middle School East, Hampton N.Y.
Michael Michewicz, Wellspring Preparatory High School, Grand Rapids Mich.
*Sarah Milazzo-Payne, Bryan Station Middle School, Lexington Ky.
*Jody Miller, McCleskey Middle School, Marietta Ga.
*Kevin Milliken, East Juniata High School, McAlisterville Pa.
*Duane Minnick, Briar Woods High School, Ashburn Va.
David Moellenkamp, Los Alamitos High School, Los Alamitos Calif.
*Mark Morello, Bristow Middle School Brentwood Calif.
*Sharon Morrow, Westminster Choir College of Rider University Princeton N.J.
*Kirt Mosier, Lee’s Summit West High School, Lee’s Summit Mo.
*DiAnne Mott, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville Central School, St. Johnsville N.Y.
Steve Muise, Mt. Blue High School, Farmington Maine
*Josh Murray, Rio Americano High School, Sacramento Calif.
*Melton Mustafa, Parkway Middle School of the Arts, Lauderhill Fla.
*Laura Nelson, Orangewood Christian School, Maitland Fla.
Torrey Newhart, Academy of Arts and Academics, Springfield Ore.
Laura-Beth Nichols, Bethpage Elementary, Bethpage Tenn.
Matthew Nishimoto, Coronado High School, Henderson Nev.
*Edward Norris, Glen Cove High School Glen Cove N.Y.
*John Oelrich, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin Tenn.
*Bradley Olesen, Columbus State University, Columbus Ga.
*Robert Parker, South Oldham Middle School, Crestwood Ky.
*Michael Pavlik, York Community High School, Elmhurst Ill.
*Mark Perkins, Scranton Public School, Scranton N.D.
*Heather Philhower, Millstone Township Middle School Perrineville, N.J.
Leanna Pink-Sewell, Ahern Middle School, Foxborough, Mass.
Catherine Plichta, Park Place Community Middle School MS K266, Brooklyn N.Y.
Christine Porter, Brooklyn Center Secondary, Brooklyn Center, Minn.
Jay Posteraro, Mesa Verde Middle School, San Diego, Calif.
*Timothy Powell, Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, Augusta Ga.
*Penelope Quesada, Lincoln Elementary, Louisville Ky.
Rosa Rabinovich, Norman S. Edelcup Sunny Isles Beach K-8, Sunny Isles, Beach Fla.
Amy Rangel, Glendale High School, Glendale, Calif.
*Marc Ratner, Mineola High School Garden, City Park, N.Y.
*Kara Ravina, Las Lomas High School Walnut Creek, Calif.
Ulli Reiner, Palomar College, San Marcos, Calif.
Joseph Renardo, Indian Trail Elementary School, Frankfort, Ill.
Phillip Riggs, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, N.C.
*Brian Roelandt, Fitzgerald High School, Warren, Mich.
*Matthew Rotjan, South Orangetown Middle School, Blauvelt, N.Y.
*Thomas Ruggieri, Boardman High School, Youngstown, Ohio
*Christopher Rust, Sunset High School, Portland, Ore.
*Joseph Rutkowski, John L. Miller-Great Neck North High School, Great Neck, N.Y.
Kenny Sack, Mary Kay McMillin School, Berkeley Heights, N.J.
Melissa Salguero, P.S. 48 Joseph R. Drake, Bronx, N.Y.
Agnieszka Salter, Forest Lane Community School, Montello, Wis.
Peter Sampson, Whiteland Community High School, Whiteland, Ind.
*Wendy Sarnoff, Venice High School, Los Angeles, Calif.
*Jennifer Schecter, Marie Curie Middle School 158, Bayside N.Y.
Susan Schiffman, Manchester Elementary Middle School, Manchester, Vt.
Kyle Schoeller, Northside Elementary, Rogers, Ark.
*Jacob Seymour Lancaster Middle School Lancaster, N.Y.
Chaz Shipman, Freeport Area Junior High School, Sarver, Pa.
Paula Simmons, Elwood Junior -Senior High School, Elwood, Ind.
*Lisa Simone, Hooper Avenue Elementary, Toms River, N.J.
*Joseph Sitler, Brentwood High School, Brentwood, N.Y.
Teresa Slade, Hempstead High School, Dubuque, Iowa
Rachel Slotnick, Franklin Academy, Boynton Beach, Fla.
Kelsey Smith, Mattawan Middle School, Mattawan, Mich.
Matthew Smith, American Canyon High School, American Canyon, Calif.
Michael Smith, Nyack High School, Upper Nyack, N.Y.
Robert W. Smith, Troy University, Troy, Ala.
*Nicole Snodgrass, Cherokee High School, Marlton, N.J.
Andrea Crisara Snouffer, West Ridge Middle School, Austin, Texas
Wilbert Solomon, McLean Middle School, Fort Worth, Texas
*Kim Stamps, Belleville East High School, Belleville, Ill.
*Ronnie Stanford, Barrow High School, Barrow, Alaska
*Kathy Stefani, Grangeville High School, Grangeville, Idaho
Amy J. Steiner, Hillery Park Elementary, Buffalo, N.Y.
*Don Stinson, Naperville North High School, Naperville, Ill.
Vicky Stockton, New York State School for the Deaf, Rome, N.Y.
Annette Stone, Birch Elementary School, North Olmsted, Ohio
Steve Sveum, Sun Prairie High School, Sun Prairie, Wis.
Siema Swartzel, Arnold Memorial Elementary School, Cleveland, Tenn.
*Bill Swick, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Las Vegas, Nev.
*Eric Swihart, Montera Middle School, Oakland Calif.
*Brayer Teague, Downers Grove North High School, Downers Grove, Ill.
*Gregory Thomas, Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, Va.
Tom Thomas, Mason County Central High School, Scottville, Mich.
*Julie Trent, Combs High School, San Tan Valley, Ariz.
*Barry Trobaugh, Munford High School Munford, Tenn.
Carol Turner, Krum High School, Krum, Texas
*GayLin Tutnick, Saguaro High School, Scottsdale, Ariz.
*David Tyson, Murray Middle School, Wilmington, N.C.
*Nana Vaughn, Veterans Elementary School, Ellicott City, Md.
*Linda Versprille, Sangaree Middle School, Ladson, S.C.
Johnnie Walker, Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, Chicago Ill.
*Jay Wardeska, Brunswick High School, Brunswick, Ohio
*Kyle Weary, Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, Hagerstown Md.
Matthew Weaver, North Houston Early College High School, Houston, Texas
*Marla Weber, Eisenhower High School, Goddard, Kan.
*Brent Whitaker, Southeast Bulloch High School, Brooklet, Ga.
Kristi Wicihowski, West Allis Nathan Hale High School, West Allis, Wis.
*Lois Wiggins, Edythe J. Hayes Middle School, Lexington, Ky.
*Dustin Wiley, Firelands High School, Oberlin, Ohio
Kelly Winovich, Northgate Middle/Senior High School, Pittsburgh Pa.
Elijah Wirth, Peabody Preparatory, Baltimore, Md.
*Marcus Wolfe, Valley Christian Conservatory of the Arts, San Jose, Calif.
Michael Woods, Hamilton College, Utica N.Y.
Mark Wurtzel, Pershing Middle School, Houston, Texas
*Bruce Yates, General McLane High School, Edinboro, Pa.
In February 2015, NAFME member Jared Cassedy of Windham High School in Windham, N.H., was named the recipient of the second annual Music Educator Award™.
The 2016 semifinalists will be announced in September. Nominations for the 2017 Music Educator Award are now open.
Roz Fehr, NAfME Communications Content Developer, May 7, 2015. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org).
