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Music in Schools Initiative

Distinguished Music Educators announced for 2011 Symposium on Music in Schools

The Yale School of Music is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Music Educator Awards.

The Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award is presented biennially by the Yale School of Music to participants in the Symposium on Music in Schools. These awards honor fifty music educators from across the country who are selected for their outstanding accomplishments teaching music in public schools.

This year, 330 educators from 45 U.S. states were nominated to received the award. A panel of music professionals selected fifty teachers, or 15% of all nominees. Three of those selected were nominated by members of the Yale College Class of 1957, which gave its 50th reunion class gift to the School of Music to improve the quality of public education in America.

As in previous years, the Distinguished Music Educators form a diverse group: they come from thirty different states; teach vocal as well as instrumental music across myriad genres; and work at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in urban, rural, and suburban school districts. The selected educators will travel to New Haven, all expenses paid, to attend the 2011 Symposium on Music in Schools. They will be joined at the Symposium by the music teachers in the New Haven Public Schools.

This year’s Symposium will feature a keynote address by education journalist John Merrow. Participants will  attend a performance by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble and will be invited to a talk by Ma, presented in conjunction with the Silk Road Ensemble by the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

Congratulations to the 2011 Yale Distinguished Music Educators:

Suzana Basaric-Ilic
Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD

Gary Bernice
Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MA

Michelle Berra
Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL

Carol Boehm
Red Bank Borough Public Schools, Red Bank, NJ

Jeanne Caldwell
West Des Moines Community Schools, West Des Moines, IA

Barbara Chusid
Madison Metropolitan School District, Madison, WI

Carmalyn Cook
New Haven Public Schools, New Haven, CT

Troy Davis
San Mateo Union High School District, San Mateo, CA

Helen Demong
Saranac Lake Central School District, Saranac Lake, NY

William Dyer
Aberdeen School District No. 5, Aberdeen, WA

Curt Ebersole
Northern Valley Regional High Schools, Old Tappan, NJ

Tom Elliott
Lower Merion School District, Ardmore, PA

Stephen Fairbanks
Park City School District, Park City, UT

Roxanne Fauque
Belgrade Public Schools, Belgrade, MT

Duane Foster
Normandy School District, St. Louis, MO

Donald Greene
Richmond County Schools, Hamlet, NC

Angela Griffin
Simsbury Public Schools, Simsbury, CT

James Hardwick
Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia Beach, VA

Edward Henderson
SC Department of Juvenile Justice, Columbia, SC

Roger Henderson
Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools, Grinnell, IA

Megan Hennessy
Town of New Shoreham School District, Block Island, RI

Shawn Hofmann
Ridgway Area School District, Ridgway, PA

Patrick Jackson
Kirkwood School District, Kirkwood, MO

Stefanie Janin
Bend-La Pine Schools, Bend, OR

David Kays
Gladstone School District, Gladstone, OR

Emilia Kister
Valley Stream Union Free District 30, Valley Stream, NY

Margret Krasin
School District of River Falls, River Falls, WI

Troy Kryzalka
Montgomery County Schools, Troy, NC

Virginia Lam
School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Peter Lemonds
Gwinnett County Public Schools, Duluth, GA

Dale Lhotka
Kodiak Island Borough School District, Kodiak, AK

Jami Lupold
Pasadena Independent School District, Pasadena, TX

Kathleen McMinn
Plymouth Public Schools, Plymouth, MA

Deborah Mosier
Omaha Public Schools, Omaha, NE

Regina Noland
Tuscaloosa City Schools, Tuscaloosa, AL

Desiree Overree
Katy Independent School District, Katy, TX

Cindy Puschak
Cave Creek Unified School District, Scottsdale, AZ

Bill Robinson
Maryville City Schools, Maryville, TN

Peter Sampson
Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation, Whiteland, IN

Diane Sanfillippo
Schaumburg School District 54, Schaumburg, IL

Thomas Scavone
Canton Public Schools, Canton, CT

Joani Slawson
Brevard Public Schools, Viera, FL

Lydia Smith-Lockwood
Clark-Shawnee Local Schools, Springfield, OH

Holly Stumpf
Lexington Public Schools, Lexington, MA

Regina Talbot
City School District of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY

Mairi Thompson
Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA

Mark Vadnais
Barrington Public Schools, Barrington, RI

James Verdone
Northbridge Public Schools, Whitinsville, MA

Jessica Wright
Caddo Parish Public Schools, Shreveport, LA

Karen Zuidema
Wausau School District, Wausau, WI