Cardston music teacher receives provincial award
Asmall-town teacher received a big award in October at the annual music conference in Alberta. This year, the prestigious Alberta Music Education Foundation Recognition (AMEF) Award, which recognizes music teachers across the province who have made a contribution in music to students of all ages, was presented to Cardston’s Linda Burwell.
“Every town has a Mr. or Mrs. Music,” said Alberta Music Education Foundation vicechair Robert George in presenting the award to Burwell at the annual conference on Oct. 27. “Linda is the Mrs. Music of Cardston.”
The award which was presented in Red Deer during the annual conference after Burwell was nominated by one her student’s parents for her dedication, hard work and exceptional teaching skills.
“She is the most amazing person who can turn any group of children into a choir that is amazing. She has a gift with music that she shares with every student,” says Beverley Gerard, a parent of one of Burwell’s students, and the individual who nominated her for the award.
With 30 years of experience in teaching music at Cardston Elementary School, Burwell’s skills have enabled her elementary choir program to receive multiple awards and national recognition. With so much teaching success, George added the award was overdue for Burwell.
“We have had, I think, for three years in a row now people nominating Linda. It may actually be considered long overdue, she is simply one of the best teachers of young musicians I know.”
Burwell is the 12th recipient of the AMEF Award. After hearing the news, she was not only ecstatic but at a loss for words on how honoured she felt to be in such a position, says George, who called Burwell days before the conference to notify her of her accomplishment.
“She was a little bit overwhelmed. When I made the call she was quite emotional and reduced to tears for a moment, but once she’d gathered her emotions, her response was ecstatic.”
With a focus on the arts and highlighting the importance these educators make to not only their students’ lives but to the richness of the community, the award recognizes many local educators who deserve to be put in the spotlight for the entire province.
“Usually the people that we’ve awarded have been in a place long enough that they are part of the geography of that area, and not all of the people have had an opportunity to be in a position where anything more than just local recognition is a possibility,” said George.
With the competition open for nominations throughout the year until Sept. 1, (the month before the award is given), community members, colleagues and students are encouraged to speak up and nominate these educators who work so hard to teach music.
“Some years we get a dozen nominations and some years we get three or four. It’s a prestigious award as it seems to be given to those at the end of their career who have a full body of work behind them. It shows that they’ve really made a difference in music over a long period of time,” added George of the award.
The award is given out each year during the Alberta Music Conference. Online nominations are accepted every year by visiting the Alberta Music Education Foundation’s website at https://amef.ca/recognitionaward.php.
Information about the AMEF award and eligibility can also be found online through the website.