Woodbridge High Vocal Music Director Rob Blaney has been named a quarterfinalist for the prestigious Music Educator Award presented annually by The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation. More than 7,000 nominations were submitted for the national honor, which was established to spotlight K-12 teachers and college instructors who have made significant contributions to music education while helping to preserve its place in our schools. The 222 candidates who were announced as quarterfinalists this week are from 208 cities, fanned out across 41 states. "This is an incredible honor, and I am blessed to be a part of a community that places such a high value on music education,” Blaney told the NewsFlash. “I love the diversity of our music program at Woodbridge and am grateful for our administration and parents, who have allowed me to create a vocal music program that provides students with opportunities to create, discover, and, as cliché as it sounds, find their voice." “The students and faculty that I collaborate with each day are simply the best,” he said, “and they inspire me to be the best that I can be." According to the official news release, semifinalists will be announced in September, and the field will later be narrowed to 10 finalists. One of them will pick up The Music Educator Award and a $10,000 honorarium in L.A., but that's not all; he or she will also get to attend the 2015 Grammy Awards. The other nine finalists will each receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists are set to receive matching grants. All grants and honorariums are made possible by Converse, Disney Performing Arts, the Ford Motor Company Fund and Journeys.
