Columbus Symphony Announces 26th Anniversary Music Educator Awards Winners

The Columbus Symphony has announced the winners of the 26th Anniversary Music Educator Awards, honoring individuals who make a difference in the community through a dedication to music education and promotion of a greater understanding of and appreciation for the art form.

Four winners have been selected in the categories of elementary, secondary, private/community, and lifetime achievement. Each winner will receive a $2,500 grant to spend at their discretion on music education endeavors. Past winners have used these funds to host guest instructors, repair instruments, take professional development classes, or purchase new instruments, computer software, and music.

The 2023 winners will be presented with their awards at the 26th Annual Awards Ceremony and Brunch on Sunday, May 7 at the Ohio Theatre. Tickets to this event are $55 and include the awards ceremony, brunch, and admission to the Columbus Symphony's matinee concert. The ceremony begins at 11:30 am and the concert is at 2 pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling 614-221-4916 before Thursday, May 4.

The winners of the 2023 Music Educator Awards are:

Elementary Educator: Brian Petit, Stevenson Elementary - Grandview Heights Schools

Brian Petit is in his 13th year of teaching, all of which have been in Grandview Heights Schools. He teaches K-3 general music at Stevenson Elementary and has prior teaching experience with beginning band (fifth grade trumpet and trombone), 4th and 5th grade general music, and class guitar. At Stevenson, he is a member of the school PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Team and an inaugural member of the district's DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Team.

Secondary Educator: Dr. Brandon Moss, Upper Arlington High School - Upper Arlington City School District

Dr. Brandon L. Moss is Vocal Music Director at Upper Arlington High School, where he directs four ensembles, among other teaching duties. Prior to this, he served for many years as Director of Choirs at Central Crossing High School in Grove City, where he directed the award-winning CCHS Chorale and several other choral ensembles. In 2023, Dr. Moss conducted the Upper Arlington High School Vocal Ensemble in an invited performance at the OMEA Professional Development Conference. He also served as music director for the 2022 UAHS production of 42nd Street, which earned CAPA's Marquee Award for Best Musical in 2022. Dr. Moss is also Director of Music at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, where he has served for 12 years.

Private/Community Educator: Larry Klabunde, Westerville Community Band

Larry Klabunde is the Music Director for the Westerville Community Bands, which includes various chamber ensembles, the Westerville Community Big Band, and the Westerville Concert Band. He conducts the Westerville Concert Band and plays trombone in the Westerville Community Big Band. Since Klabunde began directing the WCB in the fall of 2014, the band has promoted broad-based initiatives centered on the theme "Music for Life." The band presents annual music scholarships to deserving Westerville students planning to major in music education and/or continue playing or singing in a college ensemble after high school. The WCB won a blind audition and performed at the 2018 National Association of Concert Bands Conference in Buffalo, NY. Starting in 2019, the WCB began partnering with the Westerville schools to feature their band students at an annual Young Person's Concert.

Lifetime Achievement: Samuel Richardson, Columbus Alternative High School - Columbus City Schools

Drawing on over three decades of expertise, Samuel Richardson specializes in instrumental music education. He has built a prolific career serving as a music educator in the Columbus City Schools district for over 30 years. His tenure includes teaching at the elementary, middle, and high school levels and working as a music arranger for the Columbus East, Eastmoor and West High school bands. Mr. Richardson has also found much success as the director of instrumental music at Columbus Alternative High School. As a professional musician he performed with Gene Walker's Generations, The African-American Brass Ensemble under the direction of Ted Turner and with many big bands, church groups, jazz, and rhythm & blues groups in the Central Ohio area as a freelance musician.

Adjacent to his main responsibilities in the field, Mr. Richardson has been active as a department chair for Westmoor Middle School, Franklin Alternative Middle School and Columbus East High School where he served as Director of The Mighty Marching Tiger Band. In 2002, Mr. Richardson was awarded the Columbus Symphony Orchestra's Music Educator of the Year for Secondary Schools.