MEDICAL LAKE — Medical Lake middle and high school band teacher Craig Johnson was recently awarded the Spokane Youth Symphony’s 2019 Carolyn Hage Nunemaker Music Teacher Appreciation award on Nov. 3 at the Fox Theater.
Johnson, a 24-year music teacher — 20 in Medical Lake — received a $500 check made out to Medical Lake High School for use in the high school band program, according to Jennifer O’Bannan, symphony executive director.
“He’s had a quiet, behind the scenes, great impact on our orchestras,” O’Bannan said. “We felt he deserved it.”
Now in its fourth year, the award was established by an anonymous donor who’s life was influenced by Carolyn Hage Nunemaker, a Spokane music teacher during the 70s and 80s “who made a real difference to individual students and to the climate of early music education in our area,” according to a statement read during the award ceremony. It was in her honor to choose people each year who have had an impact on students and the community.
In addition to supplying the youth orchestra with musicians, Johnson’s bands regularly perform for veterans arriving and departing on Honor Flights to view war monuments at the nation’s capital and at the Spokane Veterans home.
They recently performed for the Autumn Leaf Festival in Leavenworth and performed during halftime at the Harlem Globetrotters show earlier this month.
Last year, Johnson’s Wind Ensemble received the highest overall score at the Silverwood Music Festival.
“Part of (the award) is we don’t want the school music programs to feel they’re in competition with us,” O’Bannan said. “We want them to know we are supportive, and we want their programs to be successful, which is why we give out this award: to find teachers who are doing a great job and validate them in that way.”
Successful public school programs, she said, feed players to the symphony.
The Spokane Youth Symphony had been in existence since 1949. To celebrate, the symphony is offering four concerts called the 70-Years Series, the first at which Johnson received his award.
“He seemed shocked that he was getting it at all,” O’Bannan said of Johnson’s reaction to learning of the award. “He’s kind of a quiet guy.”
Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].
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