Ipswich teacher Michael Coelho takes second shot at Grammy Award
IPSWICH - An Ipswich music teacher is a finalist for a Grammy Award for music educator. It's his second time in the Top 10, and he is hoping to bring home the award for his town and his students.
WBZ-TV first talked to Michael Coelho back in 2021. He was a finalist for the award during the pandemic, and he says much of the award judging centered around how he was teaching in a lockdown. Now that he is back in class, the judges are watching his student testimonials and a roughly nine-minute video of him teaching a class.
"I used to practice being a teacher the day I got home from kindergarten," said Coelho. "Having an extraordinary music teacher in the fourth grade that helped me realize, 'Wow this is something I can be passionate about. She was like a second mom to me, and I was someone who really needed it."
Ironically, now that he is an educator, his students have the same to say about him.
"As a human being, as a person, he wants you to succeed. He feels like a second father to me," said Behnji Dessources, an upright bassist and president of the orchestra at Ipswich High School, "Recently, for me, I had some hardships in my life, and one thing he did for me wass he wrote a letter, a personal letter to pick me back up. He said in his life he faced hardships, ups and downs, but it's not in the downs that make you as a person. It's what you do in the downs that make your character."
"He was applying for a prestigious college program, and unfortunately, he didn't get in," said Coelho, "I wanted him to know, one, that they are crazy! And two, that that doesn't stop you from success. It's what you do after."
Coelho will now be competing with ten finalists from around the country. He hopes the publicity helps his students, and his community, gain confidence.
"We are a small town, and they don't have a lot of pride in themselves, even though they are fabulous. That's what inspired all of this," said Coelho.
He says the winner will be heading to the Grammy Awards in February. The show airs on WBZ-TV. He hopes to know if he won by January, but that will be kept a secret.