For Immediate Release
Contact: Catherina Hurlburt at NAfME
catherinah@nafme.org or (703) 860-4000

Three Students Named Winners
and Five Honorable Mentions Recognized
in the Third NAfME Student Songwriters Competition

RESTON, VA (November 2, 2022)—This year National Association for Music Education (NAfME) held its third Student Songwriters Competition for K–Collegiate students. This competition provided students the opportunity to submit original songs. Cash prizes are awarded to selected songwriters. All entrants receive written evaluations of their work. Selected works will be featured during the 2022 NAfME National Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on November 4.

NAfME member adjudicators selected winners from three categories: grades K–8, grades 9–12, and collegiate/graduate students. Each entrant must be sponsored by a NAfME member. Submitted compositions needed to be 5 minutes or less and include an audio recording and lyric sheet (lead sheet optional).

These students were recognized for their submissions:

K-8
Winner
Emma James, Don’t Forget

• London Middle School, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Teacher: Luis Zepeda

Honorable Mention
Eila Conopask, One Day

• Avon School, Avon, Connecticut
• Teacher: Jane Sitarz

High School
Winner
Yuta Takahashi, Ice cream in the driveway

• Greenwich High School, Greenwich, Connecticut
• Teacher: Barbara Freedman

Honorable Mentions
Dexter Griffin, disposition

• Berkeley High School, Berkeley, California
• Teacher: Karen Wells

Sanjna Rajagopalan, Textbook Answers

• Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood, New Jersey
• Teacher: Natalie Cardillo

Collegiate
Winner
Sam Harrison, Hand of Hodges

• Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

Honorable Mentions
Caroline Bergan, Dear Stranger

• Syracuse University—VPA—Setnor School of Music, Syracuse, New York

Roman Rivera, Like Me More

• Roman Rivera, Fresno, California

Listen to all the winning and honorable mention student works here.

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National Association for Music Education, among the world’s largest arts education organizations, is the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. NAfME advocates at the local, state, and national levels; provides resources for teachers, parents, and administrators; hosts professional development events; and offers a variety of opportunities for students and teachers. The Association has supported music educators at all teaching levels for more than a century. With more than 50,000 members teaching millions of students nationwide, the organization is the national voice for music education in the United States.

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For additional information, contact Catherina Hurlburt at catherinah@nafme.org or 703-860-4000.