K–12 Educators Grants in American Music

The K-12 Educators Grants in American Music provides awards of $500 to K-12 educators and music educators who have a special interest in American music to attend special events as part of the 2026 Teaching Music History Conference, which will take place in New York, NY from 5-7 June 2026. Grantees will also receive complimentary registration for the conference.

The Teaching Music History Conference, hosted by the AMS Pedagogy Study Group, brings together people who are interested in teaching and learning about music history. The conference presents special opportunities to connect educators, researchers, and members of the public who are invested in music education across all grade levels. The 2026 conference will place particular emphasis on children’s music, welcoming interdisciplinary topics on music pedagogy and other perspectives related to childhood and youth studies.

The purpose of the grants is to support educator participation in AMS programming that engages with historical pedagogy and American musical traditions. Grants may be used to pay travel and conference attendance expenses. Grant recipients will participate in relevant activities at the Teaching Music History Conference in Columbus as part of a cohort of fifteen.

Cohort Activities

Grantees will be expected to attend featured lectures and programs at the Teaching Music History Conference in New York City. This track has been designed to encourage further learning about American music by spotlighting important research in this area. Grantees are also expected to attend a 45-minute networking cohort session on each of the first two days of the conference designed to help grantees network and connect to current conversations in musicology and music education.

All application materials should be submitted as responses to the form below. Applications to the K-12 Educators Grants must include:

• The applicant’s status as a K–12 educator
• A brief description of why the grant is appealing to the applicant
• American musical topics in the applicant’s curriculum

Please see the application form for additional details about application materials.

Application is open to teachers working in K-12 institutions or music education and to students planning to pursue a career in those fields. Applicants must be legal residents of the United States. Applicants do not need to be members of the American Musicological Society.

Grantees will be expected to attend featured lectures and programs at the Teaching Music History Conference. Grantees are also expected to attend a 45-minute networking cohort session on each of the first two days of the conference designed to help grantees network and connect to current conversations in musicology and music education.