MANCHESTER, NH – Jared Cassedy of Manchester, fine arts director for the Windham School District and Youth Wind Ensemble conductor for the Manchester Community Music School, is among 10 finalists nominated for a 2015 Grammy Music Educator Award .
From the Grammy Music Educator Award site:
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 their schools. A joint partnership and presentation of The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation, this special award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony & Nominees Reception (honoring recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical Grammy Award) on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, during Grammy Week.
The winner will be flown to Los Angeles in February to accept the award and attend the Grammys, plus pick up a $10,000 honorarium. All finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium as well.
Cassedy was selected from 7,000 music educators nominated, from kindergarten through college professors. He was the only NH educator nominated this year.
Nominations for 2016 are now being accepted. Click here to nominate an excellent music teacher.
More about Cassedy from his Manchester Community Music School biography:
After graduating Summa cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire – Durham with a Bachelor’s of Music (B.M.) degree in Music Education, Mr. Cassedy began his career as a band director at Windham Middle School in 2005. During his tenure he taught all grade level ensembles, honors concert band, jazz ensemble, and string ensemble.
In 2009 he was hired as Windham High School’s first Director of Bands where he oversees all instrumental ensembles and teaches a variety of music electives.
In 2012, Mr. Cassedy was appointed as the Dean of Fine, Living, and Technical Arts at Windham High School. Mr. Cassedy received the New Hampshire Band Director’s Association (NHBDA) Outstanding Young Band Director of the Year Award in 2011 and was nominated for New Hampshire Teacher of the Year for 2014.
He is an active member of the NHMEA and NAfME, and is also the director of the Windham Community Band, which is a volunteer community wind ensemble, which rehearses and performs actively throughout the year.
In 2012, the Windham High School Concert Band received a first place gold medal at the Heritage Festival of Music in New York City as well as the Adjudicator’s Award and the Outstanding Band of the Festival Award.
In 2013, the WHS Concert Band was invited to the Heritage Festival of Gold at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Illinois and received the top instrumental score of the festival. Most recently, the WHS Concert Band was selected to perform at the National Association of Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference in Hartford, CT. Only two high school concert bands were selected out of the Eastern Division and Europe to participate. Teaching music is Mr. Cassedy’s greatest passion where he hopes to continue showing students the importance of music in their lives.
