MENC Announces Spotlight Winner

A music education video contest sponsored by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and hosted on YouTube has announced the winning entries.

The polling results for the MENC Music In Our Schools Showcase contest have been announced. This poll based competition ran during March in celebration of national Music In Our Schools Month. A large variety of entries were submitted, and the final selections chosen from three finalists in each of three categories: High School, Middle School, and Elementary School Bands. Polling closed on March 15th and the winners announced shortly after. The winning entries are still viewable on the YouTube video sharing site. Links to the individual videos are included below. Congratulations to the winning schools.

The finalists in the competition were selected based on several criteria including an introduction by a school administrator and a perceived dedication to a strong message of music advocacy. The submitted videos were permitted to have only one musical selection from a preselected list of appropriate music. In a statement from the MENC president, “The videos created for the Showcase all demonstrated wonderful examples of how music touches lives and how music programs are making a difference in the lives of young people. MENC leaders, members and staff are proud of all our teachers and their students who are learning and making music in classrooms around our nation.”

The winning schools for the Music In Our Schools Showcase competition are:

High School: Green Bay East High School, Green Bay, WI (Kimberly Seidl, music teacher)

Middle School: Western Branch Middle School, Chesapeake, VA (Linda Darden Boles, music teacher)

Elementary: Buffalo Ridge Elementary School, Cheyenne, WY (Mary Ann Fritz, music teacher)

The complete press release and accompanying information is available at the MENC web site.