Columbus Symphony Announces 2012 Music Educator Award Winners

The Columbus Symphony today announced the winners of the 2012 Music Educator Awards, honoring individuals who make a difference in the community through a dedication to music education, and their efforts to promote a greater understanding of and appreciation for music education.

Three nominees have been selected to receive a 2012 Music Educator Award in the categories of elementary, secondary, and community education. Each winner will receive a $2,500 grant to be spent at their discretion on a broad range of music education endeavors. Past winners have used these funds to host guest instructors, repair instruments, take professional development classes, and purchase new instruments, computer software, and music.

The winners will be presented with their awards at a brunch on Sunday, April 1, 2012, at The Westin Hotel followed by a presentation on the stage of the Southern Theatre preceding the Columbus Symphony concert that afternoon. Tickets to the awards brunch are $50 (includes CSO concert ticket) and can be purchased by calling 614-221-4916.

The 2012 Music Educator Award winners were selected based on the following criteria:

Making a lasting difference in the lives of students of all abilities and backgrounds
Routinely going “above and beyond the call of duty” by extending efforts beyond the classroom
Making a significant impact on their community through music education
Inspiring students to reach appropriately high levels of musical understanding and ability
Demonstrating longevity in the field of music education by their many years of work

The Music Educator Awards are made possible through the generous support of The McGraw-Hill Companies with additional support provided by American Electric Power and Battelle.

The winners of the 2012 Music Educator Awards are:

2012 Music Educator Award – Elementary Education
Yeh-Fin Chin, Vocal Music Teacher
Columbus City Schools
Avondale and West Broad Elementary Schools
Chin received her initial teacher preparation from the National Taipei Teachers College in Taipei, Taiwan. After several years of teaching in Taiwan, she came to the US to pursue her master’s degree in music education at The Ohio State University. Upon completion of the degree and teacher certification, her first position in the Columbus City Schools was at Fifth Avenue Alternative School for International Studies. Chin was among the first music educators in the nation to receive the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certificate in early and middle childhood music. This also led to receipt of the Governor’s Educational Leadership Award. She received Outstanding Teacher Recognition as a Jennings Scholar by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and was also recognized by the Columbus Board of Education and Superintendent’s Honors and Recognition for her notable work on a Columbus Teachers’ Dream Grant project. She is presently a vocal music teacher at West Broad Elementary and Avondale Elementary in the Columbus City Schools.

Chin’s emphasis upon musical growth through performing and co-curricular activities has resulted in her students participating in memorable events over the years. Among the highlights were performances by her choirs, Chinese dances, and African dances for events throughout the community, including the Kellogg’s Hannah Neil World of Children Awards ceremony, Columbus International Festivals, and the Columbus Council on World Affairs International Awards Ceremony for Educators and Business. Students also performed at Polaris, Barnes & Noble, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, OSU, Riverside Hospital, and the Supreme Court of Ohio.

With community and grant support, Chin has also been very proactive in bringing performing arts to the schools, often including collaborative experiences with her students. Among these are the Columbus Symphony’s Chamber Strings Orchestra, Jim Masters’ American Jazz Experience, Sogbety Diomande’s West African music and dance residency, Eric Paton’s Taiko workshop, Opera Columbus on the Go, BalletMet residency, and The Phoenix Theatre for Children residency programs.

An important part of Chin’s professional activities is to share her experiences with colleagues and future teachers. She served as a committee member to develop the elementary general music curriculum guide, including objectives and lesson plans, for Columbus City Schools. She has presented professional development workshops on integrated music programs, fostering student learning, promoting a positive learning environment, and writing grant. She frequently serves as a cooperating teacher for field experiences and student teaching for music education students from The Ohio State University, Capital University, and Otterbein University. Consistent with her commitment to the total education of students in her schools, she has served as a math and reading tutor, is currently a school leadership team member, has done analysis of achievement testing results to help diagnose student needs and improve their testing performance, and collaborated with colleagues to successfully obtain achievement results for the district’s research-based Performance Advancement System projects through successful music integration.

As a devoted citizen of her adopted country, Chin has dedicated her teaching career to students in the urban schools of the Columbus City Schools. Her cultural and educational background and values, instilled most deeply by her beloved “papa,” have prepared and inspired her commitment to the education of all children.

2012 Music Educator Award – Secondary Education
John S. Long, Choral Director
Pickerington High School Central
John S. Long is in his 38th year as the Director of Vocal Music and Chairman of the Music Department at Pickerington High School Central in Pickerington, Ohio. His entire professional career has been joyously spent educating high school students in the Pickerington Local School District.

A graduate of Capital University, Long actively participated in their Men’s Glee Club and Chapel Choir. He earned a Masters Degree in music education with an emphasis in choral music from The Ohio State University and functioned as Graduate Student Conductor of the University Chorus.

Long’s choirs have earned superior ratings in state competitions and won national honors. They have actively performed throughout the central Ohio area and most recently performed at Walt Disney World.

Support of his students’ musical interests outside of the classroom setting has been a priority. Long has had multiple students involved in the Ohio Music Education Association All State Choir, the Singing Buckeyes Harmony Camp, and the All Ohio State Fair Youth Choir. Long has served on the advisory board of the Youth Choir and was the 2011 recipient of their Distinguished Service Award.

Long is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Ohio Music Education Association, the American Choral Director’s Association and the National Education Association. He has functioned in a variety of capacities for the Ohio Music Education Association and presently serves as a vocal music and choral adjudicator. He is also the choral chairperson for the 2013 Ohio Music Education Association’s State Professional Development Conference. Additionally, he serves as historian for the Ohio Choral Director’s Association.

Along with his high school choirs, Long is Music Director of the Helvetia Maennerchor and Edelweiss Damenchor of the Columbus Swiss Singers. He is currently in his 33rd year in this position.

In addition to his musical activities, Long is a retired coach of 30 years in cross country and track. His teams have earned awards including conference, district, and regional titles and were the 1997 Boys Division I State Champions in cross country. He has earned statewide honors and recognition as a coach.

John and his wife Cynthia reside in Pickerington, Ohio. They enjoy attending Buckeye football games, traveling, and antiquing, as well as spoiling their two adorable granddaughters.

2012 Music Educator Award – Community Education
Sgt. Martin P. McSweeney, Founderand “Pipe Major Emeritus”
Columbus Police and Fire Pipes and Drums
Martin McSweeney was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, to descendants of Irish and German immigrants. Growing up with the Oktoberfest in Schiller Park and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade downtown, McSweeney was drawn to the emotional sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe that was a feature of the parade. It wasn’t until after he married Jean Kegler that she encouraged him to learn to play. By that time, McSweeney had become a Columbus police officer and felt that the haunting sound of the pipes would be a great addition to Columbus Police ceremonies.

Searching for an instructor, McSweeney came across a phenomenal teenaged piper named Todd Jacob who taught him to play. Over the years, other officers who were also interested in learning to play the pipes approached McSweeney. In 1997, they teamed up with Firefighters George Fulcher and Steve Heselden of the Division of Fire and created the Columbus Police and Fire Pipes and Drums.

The band has proudly represented the City of Columbus in Edinburgh, Scotland, New York, Chicago, DC, and Cleveland among many others. They consistently play more than 60 functions each year and practice weekly. McSweeney has been honored to play with the most committed, hardest working police officers and firefighters in the city.

A 30-year veteran of the Columbus Division of Police, McSweeney recently retired from the band, but not the bagpipes. He and Jean reside in Worthington, and are the proud parents of two children—son Seamus, a Private in the U.S. Army, and daughter Nuala, a sophomore at the Ohio State University.

Other nominees included Benjamin Factor, Liberty Union Middle School; Daniel Gleich, Centennial High School; Matthew R. Hawley, Karrer Middle School; Charles Laux, Hilliard Heritage Middle School; Laura Myers, Whetstone High School; Jessica Sneeringer, Columbus Academy; Tony Thomas, South High School; Ed Zunic, Upper Arlington High School; Kari Clevidence, South-Western City Schools; Stevie Galemmo, Marysville City Schools; Teresa Monds, St. Mary School; Brad Sherman, Rockway School; Michael Weller, Ridgewood School; C. Gary Iams, Community Music Educator; and Doug and Susan Locke, Suzuki Music Columbus.

www.ColumbusSymphony.com