St. Bernardine's Music Ministry

Our Music Director, Tony Small, is a semi-finalist for the 2023 Grammy Music Educator Award

After more than 35 years in Arts Education, I'm just thrilled to be nominated as Arts Educator of the year; it really is an honor to be recognized by peers and the Grammy committee. I'm also just really thrilled about an amazing career and journey -- and that the biggest joy now is that so many of my former students and mentees are also recognized artists, composers, music educators. It's surreal!

For the past 10 years I've been so busy managing a largest team of teaching artists and creating quantitative programs over a 72-mile radius for more than 14,000 youth each year -- and missed the balance of teaching and directing Qualitative programming at one location. So that's why I returned last year to one school and as Director of Pallotti Arts Academy. That also allowed me time to my love for church music ministry -- which is were it all started again. Being at St. Bernardine is like coming home when I served at St. Benedict in Chicago where I also ran summer camps and year round programs.

My continued and personal mission for Arts Education is:

“I want all youth to be afforded the same Arts Pathway Programs that I provided for my own daughter -- who is a Juilliard graduate and an award winning actress/voice over artist. Thus, as an award-winning multi-genre composer with over 35 years of Arts Education expertise from building distinguished programs in Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore and Washington DC, I'm thrilled to be nominated as a Grammy Arts Educator.