6th Annual Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Award

For the 6th year, MHOF presented the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Award to five outstanding music teachers on stage at Carnegie Hall on April 4. Performing legend Roberta Flack introduced each teacher and handed them a check for $10,000 and a beautiful award, in honor of their exceptional talents and the ability to instill the love of music to their students. The 2008 recipients were:

• Brenda Corral-Smith,  Sharpstown High School in Houston, TX
• Kelvin Harrison,  McDonogh 15 School for the Creative Arts in New Orleans, LA
• Pablo Navarro, R.O. Gibson Middle School in Las Vegas, NV
• Jason Owens,  Madison High School in Portland, OR
• John Parkinson, Levey Middle School in Southfield, MI

 

L-R: John Parkinson, Brenda Corral Smith, Roberta Flack, Jason Owens, Kelvin Harrison, Pablo Navarro

 

The criteria for the award, which is given to teachers who have been awarded instruments from MHOF for their music programs includes:

• Instill a love of music in their students through instrumental music instruction in grades K-12
• Have the passion, dedication and leadership skills to persevere under difficult circumstances
• Give generously of their time, energy and talent, exceeding what is expected of music educators
• Demonstrate creativity regardless of availability of instruments, materials, classroom space and budget limitations
• Inspire students and challenge them to attain the highest level of musicianship
• Encourage musical growth through ongoing individual and group performance, auditions and evaluations

 

We thank Guitar Center for sponsoring the MHOF Award and for their continuing, generous support of our work. We thank the New York Pops and David Charles Abell for sharing their stage with MHOF and letting us give our teachers the experience of a lifetime. Thanks also to Bermuda Limousine for donating transportation for our teachers.