Nominations Are In For First-Ever Music Educator Award

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Recording Academy) The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Foundation have closed submissions for the first-ever Music Educator Award and quarterfinalists will be announced in early summer. The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators (K through college, 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 Academy and GRAMMY Foundation, this special award will be first presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony during GRAMMY Week 2014. As announced on the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards by President/CEO of The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Foundation Neil Portnow, TV and radio host/producer and GRAMMY Foundation Honorary Board Chair Ryan Seacrest, and six-time GRAMMY winner Justin Timberlake, 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 will be notified and invited to fill out an application.

One recipient will be selected from 10 finalists each year, and will be recognized for his/her remarkable impact on students' lives. The winner will be flown to Los Angeles to accept the award, attend the GRAMMY Awards ceremony, and receive a $10,000 honorarium. The nine finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists also will receive matching grants. The honorariums and grants provided to the finalists and schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Foundation's Education Champions: Converse, Ford Motor Company Fund, General Mills Box Tops For Education, and Journeys.