Browne Selected as Quarterfinalist for 2024 Music Educator Award
By Todd Marver
tmarver@nashnews.net
The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum have announced in a press release a total of 212 music teachers as quarterfinalists for the 2024 Music Educator Award, including Nashville High School music director Steve Browne.
“I am not shocked that our program has gotten recognized. They are very deserving of any and all accolades. I am very humbled that my name gets to be on the list. With exception to working hard and caring about kids, I don’t think I do anything special,” Browne said.
The award recognizes current educators — kindergarten through college across 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. The quarterfinalists, who hail from 197 cities, were selected from more than 2,000 initial submitted nominations. In addition to the quarterfinalists, 123 legacy applicants from 2023 will also be eligible to win the 2024 Music Educator Award.
Semi-finalists for the 2024 Music Educator Award will be announced in September. The ultimate recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2024.
A joint partnership and presentation between the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, the Music Educator 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 10th annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, as well as 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.
