Barry Manilow presents a $10,000 check to Bay Port High School music teacher Ashley Siegrist, July 29, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Prior to rocking the Resch Center for his final Green Bay concert, music icon Barry Manilow took a little time to do some philanthropy.
The Grammy, Emmy and TONY Award-winning Manilow presented a $10,000 check to Ashley Siegrist, a band director at Bay Port High School.
Siegrist was named Green Bay’s recipient of the Manilow Music Project — a contest created to support high school music teachers and bands across the U.S. 10 high schools in each city along Manilow’s last tour submitted the names of their favorite music teachers and then voted to select the winner.
Siegrist said she was driving to the movie theater with her family the day after voting closed when, on a whim, she decided to check her email. Sure enough, in her inbox was a message saying she had won the contest.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. All of the people that were in the running for this as well are people that I respect as music educators, and I know that they do great work in their schools,” Siegrist said.
I was excited for my students to be able to have the opportunity to get some funds for our school, but also it was just this flood of emotion, of just feeling so unbelievably grateful for all the people that had voted.
Siegrist will keep half of the $10,000 grant from the Manilow Fund, and the other half of it will go towards new band instruments for Bay Port’s school band.
Officials say Manilow launched the Manilow Music Project after he discovered most public schools had suffered considerable budget cuts in their music programs “and that high school music teachers were taking part time jobs just to raise the money to buy new drum sticks or a used trumpet so kids could play in the band.”
Since its inception, the Manilow Music Project has donated more than $10 million in instruments and scholarships to high school and college music students, teachers and programs throughout the country.
Manilow is renowned as one of the most successful adult contemporary artists of all time. His career has spanned multiple genres and produced numerous chart-topping hits, such as “Could It Be Magic”, “Looks Like We Made It”, “Mandy”, “Weekend in New England” and “Copacabana.”
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