Meridian Public Schools director of bands finalist for Grammy
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SANFORD, Mich. (WJRT) — Matthew Shephard hopes the third time is the charm.
Meridian Public Schools Director of Bands Matthew Shephard was named a finalist for a Grammy award for the third consecutive year. He’s hoping to walk away with the hardware this year.
Shephard is one of 10 educators who are up for the 2025 Grammy Music Educator Award. He hopes that it sends a message to his students.
“So that’s a huge honor in itself. It’s very humbling and flattering to think that this panel from the Grammy committee has seen what we’re doing at Meridian and thought so highly of our program,” Shephard said.
He first was named a finalist for the award in 2023 and also made the list of finalists in 2024.
“One of the things that makes us unique is that we are a small school, but we have big opportunities for our students. We don’t believe that the district size or the population of our area should limit the students’ opportunities,” Shephard said.
The Music Educator Award from the Grammy Museum and Recording Academy honors teachers who have made a significant and lasting contribution to music education and demonstrate a deep commitment to maintaining music programs in schools.
Shephard said one of his students nominated him.
“He shared with me that he saw a lot of excitement and passion in what I did and that it made him excited to come to class every day,” Shephard said.
The other finalists are from other states across the U.S. Shephard said his work in a small town makes the nomination even more meaningful.
“One of the things I like to tell our students is you may be from a small school, but you can still have big dreams,” Shephard said.
The Grammy Awards committee will announce the winner at any time. The winner will receive their honors at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2.
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