Maine West band director, Bernie Gerstmayr, recently received the prestigious Manilow Teacher Award. At Barry Manilow’s July Allstate Arena performance, he awarded a $5,000 donation to the Maine West band program and a $5,000 award prize to Gerstmayr and his family.
Barry Manilow is a Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter whose career has spanned decades. Some of Manilow’s most famous songs include, “Copacabana (At the Copa) and “Could it be Magic.”
The $5,000 donation to the school is in the form of a credit through Sweetwater Music that will be used as part of the Maine West Band and Guitar classes.
The award coincides with Manilow’s final tour. At each stop of his tour, music teachers were nominated for the award. The award recipient was determined by a vote.
“After 25 years of teaching at Maine West, it was such a pleasure to be nominated and receive this award from Barry Manilow,” Gerstmayr said. He is such a great supporter of public school music education, and to be honored by him at his Chicago concert in front of his sold-out crowd of 18,000 fans was humbling and incredible.”
Gerstmayr met Manilow before the show to receive the award, and during the show, Manilow shared ways in which Gerstmayr has, and continues to, enrich the lives of music students at Maine West High School.
“Bernie Gerstmayr exemplifies the heart and soul of our music program, and being honored with the Manilow Music Project Teacher Award is a reflection of his unwavering commitment to our students at Maine West High School and the greater Des Plaines community. His passion for music and education has touched so many lives,” said Maine West Fine Arts Department Chair Jennifer Mullen.
To date, The Manilow Music Project has donated over 10 million dollars in instruments and scholarships for students.
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