Columbus teacher wins $10K in prizes plus VIP concert tickets from singer Barry Manilow
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To paraphrase the music icon who lent his name to a contest won by local teacher Heather Chute, "Looks like she made it."
Legendary singer-songwriter Barry Manilow announced on Thursday that Chute, choir director at Hamilton Township High School, was the winner of his Manilow Music Project favorite music teacher contest.
Manilow timed the contest to coincide with his summer tour, which will stop at Nationwide Arena, 200 Nationwide Blvd., on Aug. 25, where Chute will be a VIP guest. Ticket prices for the concert start at $19.50 at ticketmaster.com.
In addition to VIP tickets to Manilow's performance, Chute also will receive $5,000 in cash and $5,000 in "Manilow bucks" to buy instruments for her school's music program.
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Manilow, whose career spans more than seven decades, said in a press release, "It is wonderful to partner with our tour venues and local communities to identify schools and music teachers that deserve this small token of my appreciation.
"Many school music programs have either been terminated, or their funds have been severely depleted. I always want to do my part through the Manilow Music Project to help keep music in schools.”
Established in 1997, the Manilow Music Project has given away over $10 million in funds and instruments to hundreds of schools nationwide, including several that were left in need after natural disasters.
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In 2019, the project donated $100,000 worth of new band instruments and uniforms to a North Carolina high school in an area still recovering from the previous year's Hurricane Florence. And in late October 2011, a little more than five months after a tornado destroyed a third of Joplin, Missouri — including its only high school — Manilow donated $300,000 to restore the music program and instruments that were lost.
The organization also supports young musicians by offering merit- and need-based scholarships to universities across the U.S.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus music teacher wins contest hosted by singer Barry Manilow
