Ten of the 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™ Semifinalists Are NAfME Members

Announcing the 25 Selected Semifinalists

The GRAMMY Museum® has announced its 25 semifinalists for the 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™. More than 1,135 initial nominations were submitted from 49 states; semifinalists were selected from 24 cities across 16 states. NAfME is delighted to announce that 10* of the 25 GRAMMY semifinalists are active members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). 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.

Amber Moss	Lakeside Middle School-Garland County	Hot Springs	Arkansas
Brandon Elliott	Moorpark College	Moorpark	California
Zachary Pitt-Smith	Edna Brewer Middle School	Oakland	California
Tammy Yi	Chapman University	Orange	California
Chris Maunu	Arvada West High School	Arvada	Colorado
Joshua Boyd	Newnan High School	Newnan	Georgia
Trevor Nicholas	Nicholas Senn High School	Chicago	Illinois
Justin Antos	Dwight D. Eisenhower High School	Frankfort	Illinois
Bethany Robinson	Noblesville High School	Noblesville	Indiana
Cory Joy Craig	Benton Intermediate School	Shreveport	Louisiana
Michael Coelho	Ipswich High School	Newburyport	Massachusetts
Yael Rothfeld	Thurston Elementary School	Ann Arbor	Michigan
Matthew Shephard	Meridian Early College High School	Sanford	Michigan
Stephen Blanco	Las Vegas High School	Las Vegas	Nevada
Alice Tsui	New Bridges Elementary	Brooklyn	New York
Ryan Mack	P.S. 10 Magnet School of Math, Science, & Design Technology	Brooklyn	New York
Katie Silcott	Olentangy Shanahan Middle School	Lewis Center	Ohio
Sarah Gulish	Lower Moreland High School	Huntingdon Valley	Pennsylvania
Bonnie Anderson	Miller’s Point Elementary School	Converse	Texas
Stephen Cox	Eastland High School	Eastland	Texas
Christine Cumberledge	Central Junior High School	Euless	Texas
Jason Schayot	Berkner High School	Richardson	Texas
Matthew Trevino	Roan Forest Elementary	San Antonio	Texas
Kyle Cook	Western Branch Middle School	Portsmouth	Virginia
Chris Gleason	Patrick Marsh Middle School	Sun Prairie	Wisconsin

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

The ten finalists will be announced in December.

The 2022 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 2022. 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.

Seven of the previous eight 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 is Jeffrey Murdock, associate professor of music at the University of Arkansas.

More information about the GRAMMY Music Educator Award is available here. Best wishes to the semifinalists!

Nominations for the 2023 Music Educator Award are open for both teachers, students, and the public to nominate a music educator that inspires them today.