ANNANDALE, Va. — The 2024 Grammy Music Educator of the Year is back in class after an exciting trip to Los Angeles. Annie Ray, an orchestra director at Annandale High School, spent the weekend rubbing shoulders with some big celebrities. Now she is reunited with her students, bringing some well-deserved hardware with her.
"It's very heavy," Ray said of the award. "It's still a whirlwind. I'm still processing it all."
Ray is still soaking in her Grammy weekend.
"All the celebrities were super nice. Meryl Streep in particular said a music educator changed her life," Ray said.
She also snagged photos with Oprah, SZA, Best New Artist winner Victoria Monet, and Taylor Swift, among others. She said the reaction to her win was unexpected.
"It was a very surreal moment to be standing up there and be handed it, and everyone gave me a standing ovation which was — I can't even describe that," Ray said with a laugh.
The Grammy winner was back in action Tuesday directing the Crescendo Orchestra. It is made up of members of the high school with physical and developmental disabilities.
"I always say that music itself is not the universal language, but the act making music is. It's what brings us together and connects us all," Ray said.
She said music education is about more than the notes and instruments these students are working diligently to master. It's about fine tuning skills for outside the classroom.
"It's about teaching confidence and teamwork. How to sit with the discomfort of not being good at something right away, which can be challenging for students, and the process of overcoming that," Ray explained.
Although she said she was honored to win the award, making a difference for her students is worth more than gold.
"Just to have conversations with people after, and them saying they enjoyed my speech and that what I was doing was making an impact... That meant more to me than the actual award," she said.
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