And the Grammy Goes To…
When the Grammy Award winners take the stage on February 15, they’ll probably offer a host of thank you’s. But in the whirlwind of glitz and glamour, someone may inadvertently be left off the list: the music educators who believed in them and launched their success.
The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation established the Music Educator Award program in 2013 to call attention to these teachers and recognize their impact, whether their students go on to professional careers or not. (See more about Grammy in the Schools here.)
The 2016 Music Educator of the Year is Phillip Riggs, who’s taught band and choir in North Carolina for 27 years and is currently an instructor of music at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He was chosen from among 4,500 nominees.
I am so proud of him for shining a light on the outstanding work of music educators everywhere. The award will be presented at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony this spring.
As the 2016 winner, Phillip, who says he’s “honored and humbled” to receive the award, will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the Grammys. He will also receive a $10,000 honorarium.
Now, I’ve been known to break into song, and folk singing helped me earn my way through college. So I have a deeply embedded appreciation for music and the arts. But I asked NEA Secretary-Treasurer Princess Moss to share her perspective because like Phillip, she’s an expert on what music education can do for students.
“In more than 21 years as an elementary school music teacher, I saw firsthand the difference music education made in the lives of my students,” Princess says. “I saw it reach some students in ways no other And the Grammy Goes To... - Lily's Blackboard:
