JJC Prof a Quarterfinalist for Grammy Educator Award

A Joliet Junior College assistant professor of music is one of 14 quarterfinalists from Illinois for the Music Educator Award, which will be awarded next year by The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation.

JJC's Charles Morgan was selected from among 30,000 nominees from across the country. The top winner is awarded a $10,000 prize, and the nine runners-up will each receive $1,000.

According to his profile on the JJC Web site, Morgan is a New Lenox native who graduated from JJC in the late 1980s and began teaching at the college in 1998. He is the Fine Arts Department's music coordinator and music advisor and directs the JJC Jazz Band and JJC Community Band.

He also plays trombone with backup band for The Buckinghams, the Chicago-based group that scored several hits in the 1960s, including Kind of a Drag and Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.

Here's the news release issued Monday announcing the quarterfinalists:

WHO: A total of 217 music teachers from 195 cities across 45 states have been announced as quarterfinalists for the Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy^® and the GRAMMY Foundation^®. In total, more than 30,000 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states.

WHAT: The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators (K – 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 the schools. A joint partnership and presentation of The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation, this special award will have its inaugural presentation at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony and Nominees Reception honoring recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustee Award, Technical GRAMMY^® Award during GRAMMY Week 2014.

As announced on the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards^® by President/CEO of The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Foundation Neil Portnow, TV and radio host/producer and GRAMMY Foundation Honorary Board Chair Ryan Seacrest, and six-time GRAMMY^® winner Justin Timberlake, the award was open to current United States music teachers, and anyone could  nominate a teacher — students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans and administrators. Teachers were also able to nominate themselves, and nominated teachers were notified and invited to fill out an application.

One recipient will be selected from 10 finalists each year, and will be recognized for his/her remarkable impact on students' lives. The winner will be flown to Los Angeles to accept the award, attend the GRAMMY Awards ceremony, and receive a $10,000 honorarium. The nine 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, Ford Motor Company Fund, General Mills Box Tops For Education, and Journeys.

WHEN: A complete list of quarterfinalists is below. The semifinalists will be announced in August. For more information visit, www.grammymusicteacher.com.