Teacher of the Year Award
The Keys of Inspiration Teacher of the Year Award recognizes the outstanding dedication and passion of educators who go above and beyond to inspire and empower students in the Keys of Inspiration program.
Each year, this award honors a teacher who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to fostering musical growth, creativity, and resilience in their students. The recipient is selected based on their ability to cultivate a positive and inclusive learning environment, motivate students to reach their full potential, and create lasting impacts on their communities. This award celebrates the vital role teachers play in shaping the next generation of musicians and continues the Foundation’s mission to provide transformative music education to underserved students.
Maria Doreste Velazquez
PAST RECIPIENTS:
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María Doreste Velázquez was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. After studying piano in the Professional Conservatory Arturo Soria in Madrid and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music majoring in Musicology at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, she obtained a Masters in Music Education by the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2014.
Since 2012, Mrs. Doreste has been a group and private instructor at the Berklee Institute for the Arts Education and Special Needs, the first program of its kind in the world. At the BIAESN Maria has taught Piano and designed a variety of Early Childhood classes: Ukulele, Introduction to Musical Instruments and Music for Young Children.
For the past 9 years, Maria also serves as a music educator for Boston Public Schools teaching band and general music for students K-4 at The Thomas Edison School in Brighton. During her years at Thomas Edison, the music department has been awarded two generous grants. One by the Lang Lang foundation “Keys of Inspiration”, with a $50,000 value in a state of the art Piano Lab and a Charlesview grant worth $25,000 for “Teaching Music and Culture in a Global School Community Through Ethnomusicology”.
Awarded “Promising music educator of the Year” by the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association in 2014, Maria Doreste Velázquez was a META fellow for the Massachusetts Council for the Arts during 2019-21 developing two projects “Resources For Teaching and Supporting Diverse Learners” and “Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education”.
During her fellowship, Maria developed together with other three Boston residents music educators and artist a website for music educators to quick access tools and resources based on their students needs https://diversemusiclearners.com/
Maria has also been a member of the Education Planning Team for the Haydn and Handel Society and currently serves as a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Educators Advisory Council. Meeting regularly with the BSO Educational Team and creating yearly lesson plans that accompany the BSO Youth Concerts for other educators.
Finally since 2021, Maria is the MMEA General Music Conference Coordinator and she has also presented workshops and lectures at varied institutions as MMEA conferences (2019, 2020 and 2021), ABLE, Longy “Beginning Teacher Workshop”, CMCB faculty formation PDs (2018 to present) and Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Some of her more recent workshops titles include: “Diverse Music Learners (ADHD & Autism in the Music Classroom)”, “Routines and Transitions: Make your Teaching Life Easier and your Students Happier!”, “Connecting with Students and Families: A Culturally Responsive Approach to the Elementary General Music Classroom” and “Zooming to Success! Engaging Remote Lesson Ideas for the K-5 General Music Teacher”. Mrs. Doreste is now a Mentor for the New Arts Mentorship Program for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
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My name is Davis Cahill, and I’ve have been teaching the Lang Lang Foundation’s Keys of Inspiration® Program for 5 years. I teach at Jefferson Elementary in Greensboro, North Carolina where we currently have 692 students representing about 35 different countries around the world.
I have been a musician for about 19 years now, thanks to my loving and indisputably unique mother who was nervous about taking piano lessons alone and asked me to join her. Thanks to her, I learned piano at 8 years old, then bass, drums, and guitar, and eventually completed my Bachelor of Music Education at Greensboro College. I also completed a degree in Philosophy and Ethics with a minor in Sociology; both of which have drastically impacted my approach to education. Outside of the classroom I often play for musical theatre shows around NC, I play drums for the Greensboro College Jazz Ensemble, give private lessons on piano and guitar, and lead worship at a church in Southeast Greensboro. I was the 2021-2022 Teacher of Year at Jefferson Elementary School and have been truly humbled to be named as the Teacher of the Year for the LLIMF KOI Program.
Although piano is the main skill that I teach, my heart’s goal as a teacher is to instill love, grace, and patience into these kids, and pray that they carry those virtues throughout the rest of their life.
2022 Teacher of the Year Finalists:
- JungEun Hong – PS 214 Lorraine Hansberry Academy (NY)
- Rebecca Benitez – Elliot Street Elementary School (NJ)
- Reina Salcedo – Arbolita Elementary School (CA)
- Linda Lie Lillis – Dr. Horton Elementary School (NJ)
