Thirteen of the 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™ Semifinalists Are NAfME Members

Announcing the 25 Selected Semifinalists

The Recording Academy™ and GRAMMY Museum® have announced the 25 semifinalists for the 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™. More than 1,205 initial nominations were submitted from 47 states; semifinalists were selected from 25 cities across 18 states. NAfME is delighted to announce that 13* of the 25 GRAMMY semifinalists are active members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). NAfME congratulates each of these inspiring, dedicated, and noteworthy 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 and the GRAMMY Museum.

Here are this year’s semifinalists. NAfME members are highlighted in bold.

Name	School	City	State
Matt McKagan	Lindero Canyon Middle School	Agoura Hills	California
Tammy Yi	Chapman University	Orange	California
Patrick Smith	Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School	New Haven	Connecticut
Wayne Splettstoeszer	Torrington High School	Torrington	Connecticut
Ernesta Chicklowski	Roosevelt Elementary	Tampa	Florida
Trevor Nicholas	Senn Arts at Nicholas Senn High School	Chicago	Illinois
Bethany Robinson	Noblesville High School	Noblesville	Indiana
Cory Joy Craig	Benton Intermediate School	Benton	Louisiana
Tony Small	Pallotti Arts Academy	Laurel	Maryland
Aaron Bush	Foxborough High School	Foxborough	Massachusetts
Kevin McDonald	Wellesley High School	Wellesley	Massachusetts
Matthew Shephard	Meridian Early College High School	Sanford	Michigan
David Davis	Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School	St. Louis Park	Minnesota
Alice Tsui	New Bridges Elementary	Brooklyn	New York
Antoine Dolberry	P.S. 103 Hector Fontanez School	Bronx	New York
Brian McMath	Northwest Guilford High School	Greensboro	North Carolina
Jack A. Eaddy, Jr.	Western Carolina University	Cullowhee	North Carolina
Katie Silcott	Olentangy Shanahan Middle School	Lewis Center	Ohio
Ryan Bulgarelli	Loyalsock Township High School	Williamsport	Pennsylvania
William Bennett	Cane Bay High School	Summerville	South Carolina
Marisa Frank	Nashville Classical Charter School	Nashville	Tennessee
Christine Cumberledge	Central Junior High School	Euless	Texas
Jorge L. Garcia	Elias Herrera Middle School	Laredo	Texas
Pamela Dawson	DeSoto High School	DeSoto	Texas
Phil Aguglia	Permian High School	Odessa	Texas

* 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 2023 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 2023. 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 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 is Jeffrey Murdock, associate professor of music at the University of Arkansas, and the 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award recipient is Stephen Cox, band director at Eastland High School in Eastland, Texas.

More information about the GRAMMY Music Educator Award is available here. Nominations for the 2024 Music Educator Award are open for both teachers, students, and the public to nominate a music educator who inspires them. Nominations are due March 15, 2023, and applications are due March 30, 2023. Best wishes to the semifinalists for the 2023 award!