The Music Man: Manchester’s Jared Cassedy named 2015 Grammy Music Educator

Jared Cassedy, a music teacher at Windham High School, will be flying to LA for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, to pick up his golden statue

MANCHESTER, NH – Wonderful segment on CBS This Morning featuring Jared Cassedy, of Manchester, who was named Grammy Awards’ Educator of the Year.

Cassedy teaches at Windham High School and also at Manchester Community Music School.

Click here to view the segment in which Cassedy is profiled Feb. 2 in advance of the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards, and learn about his personal journey, adopted at age 4 from South Korea, and his professional passion for connecting his students to music, earning him the nickname, “The Energizer Bunny.”

The announcement was made Feb. 2. This the second annual Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation. A total of 10 music teachers from 10 cities across nine states were selected as finalists for the award. In total, more than 7,000 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states.

“Words cannot describe how amazing this honor is,” said Cassedy, during a formal interview for the Grammy Foundation.

“This award is not only recognition of the truly talented students and supportive community I get to work with every day, but it’s also a representation of the fundamental significance of music and the arts in our schools. As a tribute to the thousands of outstanding music educators everywhere, I cannot thank The Recording Academy and Grammy Foundation enough for helping us to advocate for and to celebrate the importance of music education across the nation.”

Cassedy began his career as the band director and teacher of music appreciation at Windham Middle School. He has been Windham High School’s director of bands since 2009. Cassedy has also been appointed Director of the New Hampshire Youth Wind Ensemble and the director of K-12 fine arts for the Windham School District. He received his bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of New Hampshire. Cassedy is currently focusing on attaining his administrative certification in curriculum and institution with a focus on educational leadership at Southern New Hampshire University.

Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for his/her remarkable impact on students’ lives. Cassedy will be flown to Los Angeles to accept the award, attend the 57th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, and receive a $10,000 honorarium. The nine other finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists also will receive matching grants. The honorariums and grants provided to the finalists and schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Foundation’s Education Champions Converse, Disney Performing Arts,Ford Motor Company Fund, Journeys, and Microsoft.

A complete list of the winner and finalists is below. Applications for the third annual Music Educator Award are currently online; to nominate a teacher, visit GRAMMYMusicTeacher.com. The nomination deadline for the 2016 Music Educator Award is March 15, 2015. The application process will be adjusted each year to allow the broad array of effective teaching styles and methods used in the discipline to be recognized and awarded.