#NewYorkNotes @RecordingAcad @GrammyMuseum 200 Quarterfinalists Announced For 2026 Music Educator Award Presented By The Recording Academy And GRAMMY Museum
The Music Educator Award™ was established to recognize current educators (kindergarten through college and 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 GRAMMY Museum®, the recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY® Week 2026.
The award is open to current U.S. music teachers and anyone can nominate a teacher—students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators. Teachers are also able to nominate themselves, and nominated teachers are notified and invited to fill out an application.
Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students' lives. The 12th annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards® and a range of GRAMMY Week events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants.
Fifteen semi-finalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants. The matching grants provided to the schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.
WHO:
A total of 200 music teachers from 180 cities have been announced as quarterfinalists for the Music Educator Award presented by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum. In total, over 2,000 initial nominations were submitted. In addition to our quarterfinalists, 214 legacy applicants from 2025 will also be eligible to win the award this year.
QUARTERFINALISTS
Name School City State
John Aguilar
Arlington High School
Arlington
Washington
Ashley Albert
Brunswick High School
Brunswick
Maine
Ricardo Allen
University of Texas at Tyler
Tyler
Texas
David Amos
Heritage Middle School
Painesville
Ohio
Joshua Anderson
University of Nevada, Reno School of Music
Reno
Nevada
Justin Antos
Dwight D. Eisenhower High School
Blue Island
Illinois
Rebecca Atkins
University of Georgia
Athens
Georgia
Barbara Baker
McIntosh High School
Peachtree City
Georgia
Nick Barthen
Moon Area High School
Moon Township
Pennsylvania
Brett Bawcum
University of Georgia
Athens
Georgia
Nikki Belch
West-Oak Middle School
Westminster
South Carolina
Macy Bell
Auburn University
Auburn
Alabama
Ammy Beltran
Valley High School
Santa Ana
California
Sarah Berglund
Richland High School
Richland
Washington
Jessica Billings-White
Lexington Public Schools
Lexington
Massachusetts
Michael Blostein
Averill Park High School
Averill Park
New York
Shelli Boes
General Johnnie Wilson Middle School
Lorain
Ohio
Alisha Bowden
West Jackson Middle School
Hoschton
Georgia
David Buckle
Jonas Salk Middle School
Old Bridge
New Jersey
Austin Campbell
Logan High School
Logan
West Virginia
Juliana Cantarelli Vita
The Bush School
Seattle
Washington
Helen Capehart
Honey Grove High School
Honey Grove
Texas
Paul Caputo
Syosset High School
Syosset
New York
Tanatchaya Chanphanitpornkit
Nyack High School
Nyack
New York
Sidney Clarke-Lequerique
Richard Montgomery High School
Rockville
Maryland
Michael Coelho
Ipswich High School
Ipswich
Massachusetts
Shane Colquhoun
Alabama State University
Montgomery
Alabama
Andrew Cowell
Belleville East High School
Belleville
Illinois
Glenn Cowen
Upper Moreland High School
Willow Grove
Pennsylvania
Cory Joy Craig
North Desoto Middle School
Stonewall
Louisiana
Laura Del Rosso
Lower Manhattan Community Middle School
New York
New York
Oliver Diez
Palmetto Elementary School
Pinecrest
Florida
Antoine Dolberry
P.S. 103 Hector Fontanez School
Bronx
New York
James Dorsey
Rockledge Elementary School
Bowie
Maryland
Dr. Janet Duguay-Kirsten
Dante B. Fascell Elementary
Miami
Florida
Jennifer Easley
Binghamton High School
Binghamton
New York
Cassandra Eisenreich
Slippery Rock University
Slippery Rock
Pennsylvania
Otis Eldridge
Hamilton Elementary Middle School
Baltimore City
Maryland
Gracie Elswick
Salisbury Middle School
Salisbury
Maryland
Cuauhtemoc Escobedo
Eckstein Middle School
Seattle
Washington
Nick Farr
Shorter College
North Little Rock
Arkansas
Anthony Ferreira
Suffield High School
West Suffield
Connecticut
Katherine Findlay
Meadow Park Elementary School
Irvine
California
Rebecca Fix
Oconomowoc Area School District
Oconomowoc
Wisconsin
Mindy Forehand
Ola High School
McDonough
Georgia
Lisa Fournier-Donley
Bourne High School
Bourne
Massachusetts
Owen Fox
Hamlin Robinson School
Seattle
Washington
Marisa Frank
Explore! Community School
Nashville
Tennessee
Angelete Frein
Frontier Middle School
O’Fallon
Missouri
Kimble Funchess
Mississippi School for the Blind
Jackson
Mississippi
Brian Gallagher
Ramona High School
Riverside
California
Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles
California
Kyle Garcia
Brooklyn Prospect’s International Elementary School
Brooklyn
New York
Jim Gasior
New World School for the Arts
Miami
Florida
Rebecca Gehlhoff
St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School
Alexandria
Virginia
Paul Glader
Bethel-Tate Middle School
Bethel
Ohio
Sarah Gleason
New Canaan High School
New Canaan
Connecticut
Jose Antonio Gonzalez
Desert Pines High School
Las Vegas
Nevada
Mansa Gory
Denzel Washington School of the Arts
Mount Vernon
New York
Carroll Gotcher
Jackson County Middle School
Gainesboro
Tennessee
Deanna Grandstaff
Cecil Intermediate School
McDonald
Pennsylvania
Jason Groon
Harrisburg High School
Harrisburg
South Dakota
Kristen Guidoni
Hellgate Middle School
Missoula
Montana
Angela Guira
Bartow High School
Bartow
Florida
Melissa Gustafson-Hinds
O’Fallon Township High School
O’Fallon
Illinois
Anne Halloran Tortora
Saint Bernard School
Uncasville
Connecticut
DaJuana Hammonds
Warner Arts Magnet Elementary School
Nashville
Tennessee
Amanda Hanzlik
Edwin O. Smith High School
Storrs
Connecticut
Bethany Hardwick
Scott Morgan Johnson Middle School
McKinney
Texas
Nathaniel Haskew
Albertville Middle School
Albertville
Alabama
Jessie Marie Haynes
Catawba Ridge High School
Fort Mill
South Carolina
Jessica Heinrich
Geneva Community High School
Geneva
Illinois
Wesley Hemmans
Richard C. Spoto Senior High School
Riverview
Florida
Michael Henderson
Chase Middle School
Forest City
North Carolina
James Henry
University of Missouri – St. Louis
St. Louis
Missouri
Francisco Hernandez
Monte Vista Elementary School
West Covina
California
Shannan Hibbard
Wayne State University
Detroit
Michigan
Tiffany Hitz
Robinson Secondary School
Fairfax
Virginia
Michael Holland
Franklin High School
Franklin
Tennessee
Samuel Holmes
Garden Hills Elementary School
Atlanta
Georgia
Lisa Sunset Holt
Cedar Park High School
Cedar Park
Texas
Brent Hopper
Lakeland Preparatory School
Lakeland
Tennessee
Karen Howard
University of St. Thomas
St. Paul
Minnesota
Alyson Humphrey Smith
A.C. Steere Elementary School
Shreveport
Louisiana
Andria Hyden
Bedichek Middle School
Austin
Texas
Joseph Ianaconi
Chateaugay Central School
Chateaugay
New York
Luis Ingels
Candor Elementary School
Candor
New York
Ben Jaeger
Vel Phillips Memorial High School
Madison
Wisconsin
Rachel Jayson
Lexington High School
Lexington
Massachusetts
Larry Jenkins
Tennessee State University
Nashville
Tennessee
James Johnson
Armstrong/John Marshall High School
Richmond
