The Mockingbird Foundation is proud to announce that its program of recognizing innovators in music education has been revived and restructured.

Established in 2004, the DeLucia Awards honor Mockingbird founder Craig DeLucia, and seek to recognize demonstrated passion for music through the use of unconventional genres, methods, instruments, environments, and/or other aspects of music education. Yet, the challenge of finding innovative music educators worthy of recognition proved a challenge beyond an initial set of announced awards.

The awards will now be administered by tubist, educator, and Mockingbird board member Andrew Hitz. Andrew has put together a fantastic panel of musicians and educators, and the process now begins with an online form. Nominations for this year are due Friday, May 15th, 2015, at 5 p.m. EST. (Note extension from April 17th!)

As originally planned, there may be up to five DeLucia Award recipients in a given year; and each year, one recipient will also be awarded the DeLucia Prize, a monetary complement of $1,000. The recipient(s) should have accomplished something which effectively developed musical abilities, made efficient use of available resources, could be replicated in other settings, and might inspire others to seek, provide, and/or support music education.

The Mockingbird Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit run entirely by volunteers, supports music education for children by fundraising through Phish-related projects. Organized by Phish fans in 1996, and formally incorporated in 1997, the Foundation has since distributed over $800,000 through 260 grants in 43 states.

The Foundation is also the leading provider of historical information about Phish and its music, having cultivated intellectual property through www.phish.net since 1994 and having published two editions of the popular trade paperback books The Phish Companion: A Guide to the Band and Their Music.

#33#