Guitar Educator of the Year

The purpose of the Guitar Educator of the Year award is to annually celebrate one outstanding guitar teacher. The GEOTY winner represents the profession and is an advocate for guitar music education in the state of Minnesota.

To be eligible for the GEOTY award, the following criteria must be met: (1) nominees currently teach guitar to children and/or adults privately, at a music store, school, college or university, etc. in Minnesota; (2) nominees must be living, Minnesota residents who have taught guitar in Minnesota for at least two years by the nomination deadline, and intend to teach in Minnesota during the 2025-26 school year; (3) only one nomination per student or parent per year, please. (However, students may nominate their teachers again in subsequent years.)

Nominations open on January 1, 2025 and close on April 15, 2025. Be sure to complete all THREE parts of the nomination form! Parents of young guitarists are welcome to assist their students with the nomination forms and short essay.

To ensure fairness in judging, the Minnesota Guitar Society’s GEOTY judges will be “blind”: they will not have access to the names and personal data of the nominators or nominees. Judges will assign points to each qualifying entry essay based on a shared rubric.

Nominators and nominees should plan to attend the Youth Guitarathon on May 17, 2025 where the winning GEOTY will be announced and recognized on stage. Tickets are available at mnguitar.org  We recommend that you purchase your tickets in advance of the concert. The winning nominee will receive a framed certificate and a trophy or plaque (details are still being worked out). The MGS will write a short bio of the GEOTY in Guitarist, our quarterly newsletter, and promote the GEOTY via social media. The GEOTY agrees to allow the MGS to use their photograph for these purposes.

The nomination forms will be posted here on January 1, 2025. Please check back then. Thank you for your interest!