The Oregon Symphony is Proud to Present Allie Vandermolen from Grant Community School with the 2025 Salem Music Educator of the Year Award

PORTLAND, OR, May 23, 2025—In partnership with Salem-Keizer Public Schools, the Oregon Symphony in Salem has been recognizing outstanding music educators since 1990. This year, the Oregon Symphony is proud to award Allie VanderMolen from Grant Community School with the 2024/2025 Salem Music Educator of the Year Award.

About the Salem Music Educator of the Year Award

The Salem Music Educator of the Year Award is given out on an annual basis to music educators who teach in the Salem-Keizer Public Schools and who set the standard for excellence in music education. The process begins with the nomination of candidates from an area of public classroom music education in the school district, including orchestra, band, choir, and general music. Committee members from the Oregon Symphony’s Salem Advisory Committee observe local teachers in their classroom setting, looking for educators who demonstrate the highest level of commitment to music education, and select the winner and runners-up after a careful and thoughtful consideration process. This award is dedicated to Karl Raschkes for his outstanding work in the district until his retirement in 1990, and current nominees all exemplify an exceptional dedication to music education, just like Karl.

The 2024/2025 Music Educator of the Year is Allie VanderMolen from Grant Community School. The Music Educator of the Year is presented with a certificate and is accompanied by a monetary award to be used in support of the recipient’s school music program. The two runners-up, Jeff Crueger  from Keizer Elementary School and Serianna Rosberg from Salem Heights and Morningstar Elementary Schools, will receive a smaller monetary prize to support their school programs.

About the 2024/25 Award Recipient: Allie VanderMolen

⁠Allie VanderMolen has been a passionate and creative music educator since 2019, currently teaching K–5 General Music and Elementary Choir at Grant Community School and assisting with 5th Grade Band at Parrish Middle School. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of the Pacific and incorporates Orff, Kodály, Feierabend, and Dalcroze methods to create an inclusive, joyful classroom. Her music room is filled with hands-on learning—xylophones, recorders, bucket drumming, and dance—and she organizes events like Family Folk Dance Night to build community through music.

Allie also contributes as a leader in Salem-Keizer’s music community, serving on curriculum and festival committees, mentoring future educators, and fostering professional growth. She provides enriching experiences for her students, including performances with local choirs and symphony field trips. Her students describe her as kind, encouraging, and full of “pizzazz.” They love her fun, creative approach—whether it is unique vocal warmups, themed concerts based on The Day the Crayons Quit, or helping them master instruments with patience and humor. As one student puts it: “She adds a special magic touch to everything we do in music.”

Past Music Educator of the Year Award Winners

2023/24: Cole Haole-Valenzuela, choir director, West Salem High School
2022/23: Bethea Gliebe, general music, Sumpter Elementary School
2021/22: Jaimie Hall, band director, Straub Middle School
2019/20: Ariana Recher, general music, Wright Elementary
2018/19: Jim Charnholm, orchestra, McKay High School; Kimberly McConnell, choir, West Salem High School
2017/18: Karly Schindler, general music, Chávez Elementary School
2016/17: George Thomson, orchestra director, West Salem High School
2015/16: Anisa Rodriguez Foroughi, general music, Four Corners Elementary
2014/15: Rebecca Couch, choir director, Walker Middle School
2013/14: Steve Phillips, general music, Auburn Elementary School
2012/13: Todd Zimbelman, band director, West Salem High School
2011/12: Tiffany Gaither, general music, Schirle Elementary
2010/11: Carol Stenson, choir director, South Salem High School
2009/10: Jim Taylor, choir director, McNary High School
2008/09: Ike Nail, band director, West Salem High School
2007/08: Bonnie Gallagher, orchestra director, Whiteaker Middle School
2006/07: Holly Albertson, general music, Gubser Elementary; and Rosalie Karalekas, general music, Rosedale and Liberty Elementary Schools
2005/06: Stephen A. Nelson, orchestra director, Sprague High School
2004/05: Paul J. Mayhew, choir director, McNary High School
2003/04: Janet Romine, general music, Faye Wright Elementary; and Russ Christensen, choir director, Sprague High School 
2002/03: Mary Lou Boderman, band director, South Salem High School
2000/01: Richard Dalzell, choir director, North Salem High School 

About Grant Community School

At Grant Community School, Salem-Keizer’s first dual language school, music is a vital part of their identity and community. Serving nearly 450 students from diverse cultural, linguistic, and ability backgrounds, their music program is a space where all students are empowered to discover their voices and grow as musicians. The program blends high expectations with joyful learning, offering engaging, well-paced lessons that keep students focused and inspired. Signature events like Family Folk Dance Night, Grade-Level Themed Concerts, and the annual Talent Show, all bring families together in celebration of music and community. Through creative opportunities like a field trip to the Oregon Symphony and access to new instruments funded by grants and generous donations from the community, students experience music as both personal expression and collective joy. No matter where their musical journey takes them, Grant students will always have the memories and the fundamentals that they have learned and experienced during their time at Grant Community School.

About the Oregon Symphony

⁠The multi-GRAMMY Award-nominated Oregon Symphony, led by Jean Vollum Music Director David Danzmayr, serves more than 500,000 people annually through live concerts and education and community engagement programs. Through innovative initiatives such as the Creative Alliance, the Oregon Symphony engages cultural thought-leaders to bring a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and inspiring musical experiences to our community that go beyond the concert hall and support the Symphony’s mission to move music forward. Online programming and syndicated broadcasts extend the Oregon Symphony’s reach to tens of millions more children and adults around the world. The Oregon Symphony has delighted audiences for more than 125 years and is the oldest orchestra in the Western United States. For more information, visit www.orsymphony.org. Follow Oregon Symphony on Instagram and Facebook.

Media Contact: Laurel Wilde, Director of Communications, lwilde@orsymphony.org

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