Paula Riley, the choral music director at Leland Stanford Middle School in Long Beach, CA, was announced as this year’s winner of the annual Music Educator of the Year Award. This annual award honors outstanding contributions to music education in Long Beach, the South Bay, and Orange County regions.
The award was established by the Long Beach Camerata Singers to recognize the extraordinary dedication of music educators to training talented musicians for the future and sustaining the value of music as an essential experience for all youth in our region. The award recognizes the achievements of music educators in schools, colleges, churches and community settings, as well as private instruction.
Ms. Riley has been teaching at Stanford Middle School for 20 years and in that time has built a middle school choir with a solid reputation in the community. Many of her students call her their favorite teacher, and parents call her the most influential teacher their child has ever had.
Previous award winners include James Petri, Music Curriculum leader in the Long Beach Unified School District, and Andrew Osman, Instrumental Music Director at Long Beach Polytechnic.