#NewYorkNotes @RecordingAcad @GrammyMuseum SEMIFINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2027 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 2027.
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 13th annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 69th 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.
WHO:
A total of 25 music teachers from 25 cities have been announced as semifinalists for the Music Educator Award presented by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum. In total, over 2,000 initial nominations were submitted.
SEMIFINALISTSJustin Antos, Dwight D. Eisenhower High School | Blue Island, IL
Marcos Carreras, Conservatory of The Arts | Springfield, MA
Ernesta Chicklowski, Roosevelt Elementary School | Tampa, FL
Michael Coelho, Ipswich High School | Ipswich, MA
Marissa Guarriello, University of Texas Austin | Austin, TX
Amanda Hanzlik, Edwin O. Smith High School | Storrs, CT
Roland Hatcher, Adlai E. Stevenson High School | Lincolnshire, IL
Lisa Sunset Holt, Cedar Park High School | Cedar Park, TX
Rachel Jayson, Lexington High School | Lexington, MA
Dominique Lane, Crisp County High School | Cordele, GA
Drew Lewis, Ramón C. Cortines School of VAPA | Los Angeles, CA
Stefano Marchese, Eliot K-8 Innovation School | Boston, MA
Michael McCabe, Lake Highland Preparatory School | Orlando, FL
Kevin McDonald, Wellesley High School | Wellesley, MA
Angela McKenna, Classen School of Advanced Studies @ Northeast High School | Oklahoma City, OK
Ailisa Newhall, Canyon Park Middle School | Bothell, WA
Bill Podolski, H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program | Arlington, VA
Alberto Rodriguez, Mount Vernon High School | Alexandria, VA
Edgar Rubio, Gulliver Prep School | Coral Gables, FL
Emily Saenz, Benbrook Middle/High School | Fort Worth, TX
Rebecca Saltzman, Simsbury High School | Simsbury, CT
Jordyn Satterfield, Quioccasin Middle School | Richmond, VA
Cameron Siegal, George H. Potter School | Dartmouth, MA
Miriam Vazquez, Duane D. Keller Middle School | Las Vegas, NV
Krystal Williams, Suitland High School | District Heights, MDWHEN:
The finalists will be announced in November. For more information, please visit www.grammymuseum.org.
ABOUT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM
The Grammy Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and exploring music from yesterday and today to inspire the music of tomorrow through exhibits, education, grants, preservation initiatives, and public programming. Paying tribute to our collective musical heritage, the Museum values and celebrates the dynamic connection in people’s diverse backgrounds and music’s many genres, telling stories that inspire us, and creative expression that leads change in our industry.
For more information, visit www.grammymuseum.org, “like” the Grammy Museum on Facebook, and follow @GrammyMuseum on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
The Grammy organization is made up of the Recording Academy®, The Latin Recording Academy®, MusiCares®, the Grammy Museum®, and the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation®. For more information about the Grammys, please visit grammy.com.
ABOUT THE GRAMMYS
Music is a powerful force for good in the world. It heals. It unites. It moves us like nothing else. The people who create it deserve an organization dedicated to their well-being. That's us. We exist to serve music, and all the people who make it. The Grammy organization is powered by 30,000 members, working songwriters, performers, producers, engineers, and music professionals, and we serve music people by spearheading public policy efforts to protect their rights, opening pathways of opportunity for them while dismantling old barriers, providing direct assistance, recognizing musical excellence, and upholding a peer-based Awards process that endures as music's highest honor. Our service positively impacts music creators everywhere, and results in a growing, thriving and more fair music industry.
The Grammy organization is made up of the Recording Academy®, The Latin Recording Academy®, MusiCares®, the Grammy Museum® , and the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation®. For more information about the Grammys, please visit Grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the Grammys' social communities on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and X.
