WESTMINSTER — Kurn Hattin Homes for Children Music Director Lisa Bianconi is one of 10 finalists for the inaugural Grammy Music Educator Award, established in 2013 to recognize educators 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 the schools.”
On April 24 Bianconi was honored for the distinction at a ceremony held on Kurn Hattin's campus that was attended by Grammy Foundation Senior Vice President Kristen Madsen and scores of Bianconi's colleagues, students, family members, friends, and other supporters.
At the ceremony, Madsen presented matching $1,000 honorarium checks to Bianconi and Kurn Hattin Homes for Children on behalf of the foundation and the Recording Academy.
Madsen told the assembled students, “Mrs. Bianconi won this award because she not only teaches you music, she also fills your hearts with caring, love, respect, and confidence.”
Ronald Williams, the chief of Kurn Hattin's Executive Committee, and a Kurn Hattin graduate of the class of 1948, read a proclamation issued to Bianconi by Gov. Peter Shumlin congratulating Bianconi for her achievement and for embodying excellence in the field of music education.
In accepting the honors, Bianconi thanked Kurn Hattin's leadership for its strong support for music in the curriculum over the past 120 years.
She then donated her own $1,000 honorarium to the Kurn Hattin children, saying, “I am proud to be your teacher. I have learned a great deal from you. You are resilient and strong.”
Bianconi is one of 10 finalists for the award from an initial pool of 30,000 applicants from all 50 states.
The event culminated in musical performances by the Kurn Hattin Beginning Choir, the Kurn Hattin Select Choir, and the Kurn Hattin Jazz Ensemble.