By Jo Mathis
AAPS District News Editor
Before a packed crowd in Schreiber Auditorium Thursday, the Pioneer High School Music Department presented its 2015 GRAMMY Signature School Gold Award Celebration Concert.
The concert celebrated the fact that Pioneer finished in the top three schools in the country for its outstanding commitment to music education in 2015.
GRAMMY Foundation Board member Pamela Alexander called the award “an amazing achievement.”
“There are 20,000 schools in this country that has the opportunity to apply fora GRAMMY Signature School Gold Award,” said Alexander at a reception prior to the concert. “This year, there are 13 schools selected as GRAMMY Signature schools, and the top two are the GRAMMY Signature School Gold Award … It’s the excellence of the music program, it’s the breadth of the music program. It’s the opportunity for kids who aren’t even in the performance side of it to learn about music and engage in the music program somehow. And that’s what Pioneer does so well. And that’s why it’s so exciting that they’re winning again.”
The GRAMMY Foundation Signature Schools program recognized the top 36 public school music programs in the nation as determined by a panel of top music educators and professionals. As a Gold Award winner, Pioneer’s Department of Music received a $3,500 grant from the GRAMMY Foundation, which was established in 1989.
Pioneer has now received eight GRAMMYs.
Jeremy Peters, director of creative licensing and business affairs for Ghostly International, said Pioneer is known as a top-notch music program that’s sending kids off to great music schools to become professional musicians.
“And it’s known for providing a lot of opportunities for folks who just want to involve the arts in their life and add music in,” he said. “It’s the talent and the commitment of the staff, the parents, the kids. Everything all together. And the administrators in the district being willing to support amazing things.”
The AAPS music program is outstanding and begins in Kindergarten. The Pioneer music program is incredible and life changing, but more importantly is inclusive and welcoming to music students of all levels of ability.