Whom You Know: #NewYorkNotes @RecordingAcad @GRAMMYMuseum ANNIE RAY NAMED RECIPIENT OF THE 2024 MUSIC EDUCATOR AWARD™, PRESENTED BY THE RECORDING ACADEMY® AND GRAMMY MUSEUM®

Sunday, February 4, 2024

#NewYorkNotes @RecordingAcad @GRAMMYMuseum ANNIE RAY NAMED RECIPIENT OF THE 2024 MUSIC EDUCATOR AWARD™, PRESENTED BY THE RECORDING ACADEMY® AND GRAMMY MUSEUM®

RAY AND NINE FINALISTS WILL RECEIVE CASH HONORARIUMS, WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT AND RESOURCES PROVIDED BY THE CHUCK LORRE FAMILY FOUNDATION

Annie Ray of Annandale High School in Annandale, Virginia, is the recipient of the 2024 Music Educator Award™ presented by the Recording Academy® and GRAMMY Museum®. Ray will be recognized during the Recording Academy®'s Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Sat, Feb. 3. In addition, nine music teachers have been announced as finalists for the award. Initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states. A complete list of the recipients is below.

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 recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY® Week 2024.

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, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.

Nominations and applications for the 2025 Music Educator Award are now open via grammymusicteacher.com.

ABOUT ANNIE RAY

Annie Ray currently serves as both the orchestra director and performing arts department chair at Annandale High School (AHS) in the Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) system. Ray is an advocate for providing universal access to quality music education and is known for founding and developing creative opportunities to make music accessible to students of all demographics. Her creation of the FCPS Parent Orchestra allows just under 200 caregivers annually to learn to play their child’s instrument each year. Ray also created the Crescendo Orchestra program to bring the joy of Orchestra to High School students with severe developmental or intellectual disabilities. In January 2022, this program was featured and acclaimed on the cover of the Metro section in The Washington Post. TEDx reached out and asked Ray to give a talk in April 2022, The Sounds of Success, based on this work. She has presented at numerous colleges and conferences on the topic and was named the 2023 FCPS Outstanding Secondary Teacher of the Year for her work on equity in education. Ray is a member of the StringRise professional development team and was a 2023 Wolf Trap Educator Guarantee for the AHS partnership with GRAMMY-nominated artist Christylez Bacon. She currently resides in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband Irving and their girls Eloise and Millie. She is an adventurer at heart, and her biggest bucket list item is to one day win “The Amazing Race.”

ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY

The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music's history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards® — music's only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world's leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.

For more information about the GRAMMY Awards and the Recording Academy, please visit GRAMMY.com and RecordingAcademy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @RecordingAcad on X, "like" Recording Academy on Facebook, and join the Recording Academy's social communities on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn. For media assets, please visit the Recording Academy’s Press Room.

ABOUT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM

The GRAMMY Museum, currently celebrating its 15th anniversary, 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 Twitter, Instagram

ABOUT THE CHUCK LORRE FAMILY FOUNDATION

The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation is dedicated to funding innovative and compassionate organizations in the areas of education, health and the arts. Reflecting the values and unique experiences of the Lorre family, the foundation supports programs, services and opportunities for those struggling with less and striving for more.

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