News June 6, 2018

Nominations are open for the 2018 ARIA Music Teacher of The Year Award

2017 winner Renee McCarthy from Woodcroft College

Image: Jason Lau

Nominations for the second annual ARIA Music Teacher of the Year Award have now opened, with music teachers around the country set to receive the respect and recognition that they so deserve.

Music teachers are undoubtedly the unsung heroes of the Australian music industry. Without them, we wouldn’t have anywhere near the amount of talent in this country which has been seen by millions of music-lovers around the world. Needless to say, these teachers are some of the most important parts of the musical process, yet their work often goes unappreciated.

Sponsored by Telstra and presented in partnership with The Song Room, the 2018 ARIA Music Teacher of The Year Award aims to recognise these teachers for their passion and hard work in providing Australian children with a better education and the chance to play and enjoy music

The award is open to any teacher out there who is working on a music program in a school, kindergarten, early childhood centre, youth centre or private tuition music school in Australia. Anyone from around the country – from students, to school administrators, to friends and family – can nominate the music teacher they admire most for consideration to win an ARIA.

Last year’s inaugural winner was Renee McCarthy from Woodcroft College in South Australia, who received her award from ARIA Award winner Josh Pyke. McCarthy was selected from four finalists from around the country, who themselves were chosen from a staggering 1,600 nomination submissions.

“The presentation of this award was a highlight of the 2017 ARIAs, and was able to shine a light
on the incredible, inspiring and impactful work being done by thousands of music teachers
across Australia,” explained Dan Rosen, ARIA’s Chief Executive.

“This year we look forward to working with The Song Room and Telstra again to celebrate more amazing teachers and their work exposing students to the joy of music.”

Nominations for this year’s award are now open, and a shortlist of the nominees will be announced later this year at the ARIA Nominations Event in October. Each of the nominated teachers on the shortlist will partner with an Artist Ambassador who will accompany the in the process of helping to clebrate their success and tell their story.

A public voting process will also be held prior to the presentation of the winner at the 2018 ARIA Awards ceremony in November.

For more information, and to vote for the inspirational music teacher in your life, be sure to head along to the ARIA Music Teacher Award website.