2016 Jane Ortner Education Award Luncheon

Special Performances from Lady Gaga and John Legend
Six-time GRAMMY® Award winner Lady Gaga was the recipient of the Jane Ortner Artist Award at the GRAMMY Museum’s 2016 Jane Ortner Education Award Luncheon on April 4, 2016 at Ron Burkle’s Green Acres home in Beverly Hills, Calif. The Artist Award honors a performer who has demonstrated passion and dedication to education through the arts. The recipient of the 2016 Jane Ortner Education Award, which honors K-12 academic teachers who use music in the classroom as a powerful educational tool, was Jonathan Bernal.

The luncheon was marked by special performances from Lady Gaga and nine-time GRAMMY winner and Oscar winner John Legend, the recipient of the Museum’s first-ever Jane Ortner Artist Award.

Building on the Museum’s successful education programs and initiatives, the Jane Ortner Education Award for teachers and the Jane Ortner Artist Award were established by the GRAMMY Museum in partnership with Charles B. Ortner — entertainment attorney, Museum Board member and husband of the late Jane Ortner, a devoted and beloved public school teacher who valued music as a tool for teaching academic subjects and building confidence and community. 

“The enormous impact Lady Gaga has had on artists and fans began with a strong educational foundation,” said Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum. “Her career trajectory, marked by extraordinary talent and creativity, is one of the most inspiring stories in music. We couldn’t be more honored to recognize Lady Gaga with this year’s Jane Ortner Artist Award.”     

The Jane Ortner Education Award for teachers is unique in that it celebrates educators who incorporate music into teaching academic subjects such as English language arts, history, math, and science. Program participants recognize that making music a central part of the educational experience fosters the development of a broad range of social skills, including creative expression, confidence-building, collaboration, and social responsibility. Previous recipients include California educators Erica Amann (El Dorado High School), Sunshine Cavalluzzi (El Dorado High School), Bianca Wilson Cole (Washington Prep High School), Kylie Ko (Mark Keppel Elementary School), and Nicole Naditz (Bella Vista High School). Past recipients of the Jane Ortner Artist Award are John Legend, Janelle Monáe and Jackson Browne.

The Museum’s inaugural Jane Ortner Education Award Luncheon was held on July 16, 2014, in Los Angeles and featured a keynote address from First Lady Michelle Obama, who noted, “Every arts organization in this country should be embracing the mission of the GRAMMY Museum.” 

All proceeds from the luncheon benefit the continued expansion of the Jane Ortner Education Award program, which encompasses professional development workshops for teachers and an online library of educational curricula and lesson plans that are available at no cost to educators of all levels. The luncheon will also benefit additional music education initiatives of the Museum, which reach more than 25,000 youth annually through Museum tours, educational workshops and summer and after-school programs.

The recipient of the 2016 Jane Ortner Education Award was honored at the Luncheon on April 4, 2016 in Los Angeles, and received two tickets to the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 15, 2016, and an admission scholarship for a trip for his or her class to the Los Angeles-based GRAMMY Museum. For more information on the award and the application process, click here.