first on decorahnews.com: A tiny bit of Decorah--at the Grammy Awards!

(Photo courtesy of Ulli Reiner)

This is Grammy Week--the biggest week of the year for the music industry.  And this year the awards will have a tie-in to Decorah.

Each year a "Music Educator of the Year Award" is given out as part of Grammy Week.  San Diego area teacher Ulli Reiner has been selected a Top 10 finalist for the 2017 Music Educator Award by The Recording Academy and Grammy Foundation.  Each year the contest typically attracts a field of more than 4,000 nominees from across the country.   It's the second year in a row she has been nominated for the Grammy Music Educator of the Year--last year Reiner was one of the top 25 semifinalists.  Her selection as a Top 10 finalist means she'll attend the Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday.

Reiner has taught music in the Poway Unified School District since 1983, where she heads the school orchestras for Bernardo Heights Middle School and Twin Peaks Middle School.  She has also led and founded several youth orchestra and adult music programs, and also performs as a professional violinist.

But it's a project near and dear to Reiner's heart that brings in the Decorah tie-in.  Palomar College music professor Dr. Madelyne Byrne was commissioned by Reiner to compose a piece called the "Decorah Bald Eagle Violin Concerto," inspired by Decorah's bald eagles.  Reiner played the violin solo when the piece premiered at the college in May of 2015 and also premiered the concerto on her concert tour to China in the summer of 2016.

Ulli tells decorahnews.com, "The 'Decorah Bald Eagle Violin Concerto' is truly a dream come true for me.  I have watched the Decorah nest for several years now and I have not only learned a great deal from this magnificent pair, but I have also acquired a greater understanding of how delicate the balance of nature is on this planet.  If we don't work harder as a nation to instill this into the young minds of the children today, then we are going to continue to lose not only species of animals but we will also put our own future at risk as well."

Reiner says she plans to take the Decorah Bald Eagle Violin Concerto around the globe in teaching and bringing wildlife awareness and conservation as a way of life.

She will get that wish this coming summer, when she takes a group of students to China, where they will have concerts in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai, performing at schools.  Says Reiner, "We will be performing American music, (including) the spring section of the "Decorah Bald Eagle Violin Concerto" in my quest to educate children around the globe about the importance of wildlife preservation and conservation.  The concerto will also feature a slide presentation which I produced to accompany the concerto.  The Chinese children we perform for will not only love the concerto but will fall in love with the beautiful Decorah eagle photos and especially those of the eaglets and juvies.  Educating the future to be the guardians of all life on the planet has always been a passion of mine and I truly believe that this must be instilled in children and at a very young age." 

The recipient of the 2017 Grammy Education Award will be announced some time this week, prior to Sunday's concert.  Says Ulli, "(This) nomination is truly an honor and I believe it is important that teachers are recognized for the devotion that so many have demonstrated to education and children."

(Photo courtesy of Raptor Resource Project)