Portland State University School of Music & Theater faculty member Coty Raven Morris has been named a quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY 2024 Music Educator Award. The prestigious award recognizes music 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,” according to a GRAMMY Awards announcement.
Morris, the Hinckley Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education and Social Justice, is one of 212 music teachers selected as quarterfinalists for the award. Those 212 were identified out of more than 2,000 music educators from across the United States.
Morris's colleagues and students praise her for her empathetic, empowering approach to teaching and her commitment to uplifting students and leading with love.
“I’m just honored to be in the company of the gifted educators on this list and want to acknowledge all the wonderful teachers who deserve recognition every day,” Morris said. “To say that I am humbled and awed by this recognition would be an understatement. I can only hope and strive to earn this each day through my work with students, and that, in the end, is what truly matters.”
Morris holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Music from Texas State University. An in-demand choral clinician, she leads workshops and presentations at educational conferences across the nation, from the American Choral Directors Association to the National Association for Music Education and beyond. She also teaches choir workshops at camps, elementary schools and high schools around the country.
In addition to her teaching, she runs the organization Being Human Together, a community utilizing music education to normalize difficult topics through conversation and connection, tackling subjects like mental health, oppression, diversity and inclusivity.
Under the umbrella of Being Human Together, as part of her work at Portland State University, Morris has launched an initiative to bring together people from all walks of life, including those who lack stable housing, to participate in community choir. This initiative, described as “CODA: Cultivating Opportunities, Discovering Artistry,” includes joy-filled “community sings” -- group singing events that are open to anyone who wants to join. She also leads the PSU Rose and Thorn Choirs, and teaches courses in the School of Music & Theater.
Semifinalists for the 2024 GRAMMY Music Educator Award will be announced in September, and the final recipient will be recognized in January 2024 as part of the 66th GRAMMY Awards events in Los Angeles.
This nomination places Morris in a small group of esteemed music educators in the country recognized for their outstanding contribution to music and music education. PSU faculty, staff and students celebrate Morris's achievement and wish her the best in the next round of the Grammy Music Educator Award selection process.
The final “community sing” of the 2022-2023 academic year, “In YOUnison,” takes place Friday, June 2 and will feature performances by PSU’s University Choirs, the Community Chorus, the combined Rose and Thorn Choirs and guest artists. Attendees can expect an uplifting evening of joy and togetherness under Morris’s musical and spiritual direction.
“Bring your authentic self, and come ready to sing!” she said.
Learn more and attend.