WHO:
A total of 10 music teachers from 10 cities across 10 states have been announced as finalists for the 2026 Music Educator Award™ presented by the Recording Academy® and GRAMMY Museum®. In total, more than 2,000 initial nominations were submitted from 50 states. Nominations for the 2027 Music Educator Award are now open at www.grammymusicteacher.com. A complete list of finalists is below:
Name
Jean-Paul Balmat Mission Bay High School
Stephen Blanco Las Vegas High School
Jasmine Fripp Tennessee State University Nashville Tennessee
Lisa Sunset Holt Cedar Park High School
Alyson Humphrey Smith A.C. Steere Elementary School Shreveport Louisiana
Jennifer Jimenez South Miami Sr. High School Miami Florida
Kevin McDonald Wellesley High School
Bill Podolski H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program Arlington Virginia
Kevin Schoenbach Oswego High School
Matthew Shephard Meridian Early College High School Sanford Michigan
WHAT:
The Music Educator Award recognizes current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the music education field and demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools.
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. They will receive a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for their school’s music program. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium and matching grants. The remaining 15 semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.
The Music Educator Award program, including honorariums, is made possible by the generosity and support of The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, NAMM Foundation, National Association for Music Education, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.
WHEN:
The recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY® Week 2026. For more information, please visit www.grammymusicteacher.com.
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 Instagram and TikTok.
