Keith Hancock
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Keith Hancock named 2017 Music Educator Award recipient

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Southern California music teacher recognized for his significant and lasting contributions to the field of music education
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

Keith Hancock of Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., has been announced as the recipient of the 2017 Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation. As the 2017 honoree, Hancock will attend the 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Feb. 12 and attend a range of GRAMMY Week events. He will also receive a $10,000 honorarium. 

Hancock has taught choral music for 15 years at Tesoro High School, where he directs more than 250 students in five curricular and four extra-curricular ensembles, and oversees the music production/audio engineering program. Last year, Hancock was selected as a Music Educator Award finalist and he was recently awarded as the Secondary Vocal Music Teacher of the Year for Orange County, California. 

The Tesoro High School music program was chosen as one of 13 GRAMMY Signature Schools nationwide for 2015. Under his direction, the Tesoro choirs have performed to rave reviews in Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, and Ireland, as well as at Carnegie Hall in New York. In addition, ensembles under his direction have won two Golden State Choral Competitions and three Barbershop Harmony Society high school quartet championships. 

A former faculty member at the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music at Chapman University, Hancock has earned three degrees (summa cum laude). As a performer, he has sung at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and with the Cypress Pops Orchestra, in addition to performing at various venues around Europe and Asia.

In addition to Hancock, nine music teachers were announced as finalists for the Music Educator Award. The nine finalists will each receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants.

View A Complete List Of 2017 Music Educator Award Finalists

Nominations and applications for the 2018 Music Educator Award are now open via www.grammymusicteacher.com.

 

 

Keith Hancock at the 59th GRAMMY Awards

Keith Hancock, 2017 Music Educator Award recipient

Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

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Keith Hancock: Music Educator Award "Means The World To Me"

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The Southern California-based music teacher makes his case for the importance of music in schools and gives a shout-out to his mentors
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Oct 6, 2017 - 12:41 pm

It goes without saying: Keith Hancock, the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum's 2017 Music Educator Award recipient, is a big believer in the benefits of music education.

Keith Hancock On Funding The Arts, Music Mentors

And there is plenty of research to back him up. Indeed, a variety of studies point to music having a profound effect on children, from helping to raise IQs, increasing vocabulary and reading skills, and boosting reading and mathematics aptitude.

"Funding the arts is such a crucial part of the well-rounded child. Even Congress has come out and said that," said Hancock, who will be among the Academy's Special Merit Awards recipients honored during "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends," airing on PBS on Oct. 13. "So it's our duty as public citizens to support public education and specifically music education. It really helps to feed the whole child. [For] some students, this is the way they connect to campus: being involved in a music program."

Hancock, who has taught choral music for more than 15 years at Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif, directs more than 250 students across various ensembles, in addition to overseeing the school's music production/audio engineering program. In paying music education forward and making a difference in his students' lives, Hancock is thankful for the tutelage he received from some of his own teachers.

"My university professor, Dr. William Hall from Chapman University, who was one of the leading choral conductors in the world, really mentored me musically and taught me how to teach music," says Hancock. "And my high school music educator, Carlita Hutton, from Brethren Christian high school, showed me really how to teach people."

Tune in to "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" on PBS on Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. on PBS. In addition to Hancock, honorees will include Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Sly Stone, Charley Pride and Shirley Caesar, and Trustees Award recipient Thom Bell. Artists scheduled to pay tribute to the honorees include Andra Day, Dwight Yoakam and Kirk Franklin.

"GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends": Performers And Full Set List

 

2018 Music Educator Award recipient Melissa Salguero

Melissa Salguero, 2018 Music Educator Award recipient

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2019 Music Educator Award: Nominate A Music Teacher By March 15

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Help recognize the critical role music teachers play in the music community by nominating someone for the 2019 Music Educator Award
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Feb 21, 2018 - 10:29 am

When Melissa Salguero started teaching at P.S. 48 Joseph R. Drake in Bronx, N.Y., there were no instruments for the elementary school's music program. There wasn't any funding either, let alone a school song or a mascot. Despite these challenges, Salguero built her teaching foundation on fostering creativity, passion and dedication in her students through the unequivocal power of music.

Fast-forward to 2018, Salguero's efforts were formally recognized in her receiving the Music Educator Award, presented by the Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum.

Of course, Salguero is one of the many outstanding teachers who inspire and engage their students year-round. Want to help place your favorite music teacher in the spotlight where they belong? You are invited to nominate them for the 2019 Music Educator Award.

The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators (kindergarten 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 schools. Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students' lives.

Please take an opportunity to recognize someone who played a critical role in your own musical career or the career of someone you know. Nominate a music teacher at www.grammymusicteacher.com for the 2019 award by completing an application on their behalf by the March 15 nomination deadline.

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2018 Music Educator Award recipient Melissa Salguero

Melissa Salguero

Photo: Getty Images

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Melissa Salguero Receives 2018 Music Educator Award

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Bronx, N.Y., music educator celebrated for her significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jan 26, 2018 - 3:19 pm

The GRAMMY Museum and the Recording Academy have announced the 2018 recipient of the Music Educator Award:  Melissa Salguero of P.S. 48 Joseph R. Drake in the Bronx, N.Y.

What Happened At 2018 GRAMMY In The Schools Live!

The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators (kindergarten 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 schools. Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students' lives. This year, that special teacher is Salguero.

Salguero has been teaching music at P.S. 48 Elementary School since 2010. Her goal is to foster creativity, curiosity and a strong work ethic in her students through the power of music. Salguero was honored as the Lincoln Center Arts Teacher of the Year in 2013. In 2014, after P.S. 48 suffered a break-in, Salguero was invited to represent the school on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Last year she was a semifinalist for the 2017 Music Educator Award.

"My parents started this love for music for me when I was very little," Salguero said at the GRAMMY In The Schools Live! GRAMMY Week event where she was recognized on Jan. 25.  "They bought me this little piano and I learned so many songs on it. And then they bought me a guitar and they kind of supported my musical instrument addiction really. I just kept learning. They let me learn at my own pace — they didn't force me to do anything.  And really that developed into such a love for music."

Like many inspirational music teachers, Salguero had a mentor of her own who helped cultivate her love and appreciation for music.

"Miss Bower, she was my fifth-grade teacher all the way from elementary school," said Salguero on her mentor. "I really struggled with school when I was little. I wasn't really confident in myself. I was so shy and I didn't believe I could do anything. … She taught me to believe in myself and it really sparked a passion for helping other people. And now her effect on me is transferring to my students."

On the most important piece of wisdom she wants to pass on to students, she reminds them that not only is practice key, but it's always a rehearsal for a performance.

"You're gonna practice is the way you're gonna perform, that's my motto," said Salguero. "When you're in the practice room and you've got bad posture, that's how you're going to perform. Every time you pick up your instrument is like if you're on the stage. Being a musician is about habits and building that endurance and all the things you need to be successful."

As the 2018 Music Educator Award honoree, Salguero will be in New York City, the host city of the 60th GRAMMY Awards, where she will be recognized during GRAMMY Week, attend the 60th GRAMMY Awards ceremony on Jan. 28 and a range of GRAMMY Museum events. In addition, she will receive a $10,000 honorarium with matching school grants. For Salguero, the chance to be recognized in her home state is especially satisfying.

"This is one of the most epic moments of my life," said Salguero. "My dream was to teach in a city that loved and cherished music. To be honored in New York City as a New York teacher, this has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life."

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Music Educator Award

Photo: WireImage.com

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Music Educator Award 2018: 10 Finalists Revealed

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See the list of 10 finalists represent schools from eight states; application process now open for the 2019 Music Educator Award
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Dec 6, 2017 - 4:08 pm

Music teachers play an integral role in stewarding the future promise of young musicians.

That's the underlying theme behind the Music Educator Award, a joint honor presented by the Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum to recognize current educators (kindergarten through college, public, and private schools) who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education.

A total of 10 music teachers spanning eight states have been announced as finalists for the 2018 Music Educator Award.

  • Pamela Andrews: Station Camp Elementary School, Gallatin, Tenn.
  • Victor de los Santos: Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, Calif.
  • Michelle Droe: Lincoln Elementary, Cedar Falls, Iowa
  • Curtis Gaesser: Folsom High School, Folsom, Calif.
  • Ralph Jackson: Bridle Path Elementary School, Lansdale, Pa.
  • Brandi Jason: Liberty High School, Eldersburg, Md.
  • Chris Maunu: Arvada West High School, Arvada, Colo.
  • Darren McCoy: Oak Harbor High School, Oak Harbor, Wash.
  • Melissa Salguero: P.S. 48 Joseph R. Drake, Bronx, N.Y.
  • Vicky Stockton: New York State School for the Deaf, Rome, N.Y.

Selected from the 10 finalists, the 2018 Music Educator Award recipient will be flown to New York City during GRAMMY Week in January 2018. The recipient will attend the 60th GRAMMY Awards ceremony and a range of Museum events, in addition to receiving a $10,000 honorarium.

The nine finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants.

The 2018 recipient will be announced in January. In the meantime, the application process for the 2019 Music Educator Award is now open.

Keith Hancock: Music Educator Award "Means The World To Me"