FAYETTEVILLE -- Jeffrey Murdock, a music professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has won the 2021 Grammy Music Educator award.
The award comes with a $10,000 honorarium and a matching grant for the UA Department of Music.
"Every learner, every day should have access to high-quality music education -- no matter who they are, no matter where they're from, no matter what age they are," Murdock said in a statement. "My passion is for leveling the field of music education and I'm passionate about increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in the field."
Murdock conducts the university's Inspirational Chorale and Razorback Chorus. As an associate professor and associate director of choral activities, Murdock also teaches choral music education courses.
He joined the university in 2015, according to UA's website.
Criteria for the honor include the difference made in the lives of students, making a "significant and lasting contribution to the field of music," and showing a commitment to maintaining music education in schools, according to the website for the award, which is a joint presentation of the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum.
Nominations for the honor are open to current, full-time music educators in the U.S. teaching in public or private schools.
Murdock's win was announced Thursday on a national television broadcast of CBS This Morning, where he described his personal background and perspective on teaching.
He said he began playing piano at age 5, helped by a family friend who paid for lessons. Murdock, who is Black, praised those around him, including Black music teachers, for helping him early in life.
"I appreciate the village that was around me that helped me overcome those odds," Murdock said, describing how he grew up in a Biloxi, Miss., neighborhood where "it was not uncommon to see people getting shot and killed right in front of my house."
He said that "if it had not been for those musical experiences with African-American teachers, I'm not sure that I would have had the same trajectory" in music.
Murdock's work includes teaching other music educators.
"As many music teachers as we can keep out there and as many folks as we can get to continue planting those seeds and giving students those meaningful experiences, I think we're making the world a better place, one kid at a time," Murdock said in the CBS interview.
Attempts to reach Murdock through email, phone and social media were unsuccessful Thursday.
Nicole Dominguez, a junior at UA, is president of the Inspirational Chorale, a student organization. The chorale sings in the Black sacred music tradition.
Dominguez, from Springdale, said she first got to know Murdock when as a senior in high school she attended a one-week choir camp where he was a guest conductor.
"It was that level of passion that I had never really seen in music education," Dominguez said, describing her early impression of him as a teacher.
Now that she's in her sixth semester of being in UA's Inspirational Chorale, Dominguez said she's seen Murdock persevere despite obstacles that have included a bout with covid-19.
"While he was quarantining, he was still Zooming in and teaching us from his bedroom," Dominguez said, stating that a sickened Murdock was "taking breaks every once in a while" while still teaching the group.
"What I didn't realize was how truly dedicated he was to this craft," said Dominguez, who sings alto with the Inspirational Chorale.The group met virtually in the fall because of the pandemic but this spring semester meets in-person weekly, Dominguez said.
Murdock "just translates that passion and gets other people excited about it, too," Dominguez said.
Apart from music, Murdock takes the time to help students, she said.
This includes when discussions shift to potentially divisive issues dealing with race, such as the topic of #BlackAtUARK, a hashtag used with hundreds of social media posts last year in which students and alumni described instances of racism and inappropriate behavior occurring on campus.
He's "been there for each and every one of his students," Dominguez said. As a white female, she said she views him as an educator able to discuss sensitive topics while providing support.
"I think that is what makes him an incredible educator. His teaching does not stop once he leaves the classroom," Dominguez said.
Murdock began his education career teaching in schools in Memphis and Shelby County in Tennessee. He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a doctorate from the University of Memphis.
Colleagues also praised him. He "makes sure his students are safe, but that they also still feel connected, and are able to create amazing music together no matter what," Todd Shields, dean of UA's J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, said in a statement.
The award typically also comes with a trip to the Grammy awards ceremony where music stars are honored, but because of the pandemic the trip is postponed until next year, according to the university's announcement.