Five of Ten GRAMMY Music Educator Finalists for 2022
Are NAfME Members

Stephen Cox was named the 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award honoree.

The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum® announced ten finalists for the 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™, and five of the ten are members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)*. More than 1,135 initial nominations were submitted from 49 states—from public to private school educators, from general music teachers to band directors, choral conductors, string teachers, and college professors. NAfME congratulates each and every one of these talented, dedicated music educators. 

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

Name	School	City	State
Justin Antos	Dwight D. Eisenhower High School	Frankfort	Illinois
Michael Coelho	Ipswich High School	Newburyport	Massachusetts
Stephen Cox	Eastland High School	Eastland	Texas
Cory Joy Craig	Benton Intermediate School	Shreveport	Louisiana
Chris Maunu	Arvada West High School	Arvada	Colorado
Trevor Nicholas	Nicholas Senn High School	Chicago	Illinois
Zachary Pitt-Smith	Edna Brewer Middle School	Oakland	California
Bethany Robinson	Noblesville High School	Noblesville	Indiana
Katie Silcott	Olentangy Shanahan Middle School	Lewis Center	Ohio
Tammy Yi	Chapman University	Orange	California

The 2022 GRAMMY Music Educator, selected from 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 and 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 eight previous 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 honoree is Jeffrey Murdock. Learn more about the Music Educator Award^TM process.

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. The deadline to nominate is April 15.

Best wishes to the finalists! 

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

December 16, 2021. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)