ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Two Orange County music directors are among the semifinalists for the Grammy Music Educator Award out of thousands of nominations across the U.S.
Director of West Orange High School's choral activities Jeffery Redding and Freedom High School's band director Michael Antmann were both selected by the Grammy Museum and the Recording Academy as two of the 25 semifinalists.
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The award was established to recognize kindergarten through college educators "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," according to Grammy.com.
The Music Educator Award recipient will be recognized during Grammy Week 2019 with a trip to New York and will attend the award ceremony. The educator will also receive a $10,000 grant and another $10,000 for his or her school.
It's the first time that two Orange County educators have both been made it to the semifinals.
“OCPS is fortunate to have some of the best-in-field arts teachers in the country. We are excited for both of these teachers, whose commitment to excellence is the core of our business,” Scott Evans, the senior director of OCPS Arts Curriculum Services, said. “Dr. Antmann and Dr. Redding are master music educators who exemplify the type of teacher OCPS is committed to providing to our students. We are thrilled that they are being recognized at the national level.”
Antmann is in his 18th year as a music educator at Freedom High and his third as band director. Redding was a pervious quarterfinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award from 2016 to 2018.