Dallas Symphony Orchestra Announces 2025 Music Teacher of the Year: Andra Birdsong

Birdsong will be recognized at the DSO concert on April 19, 2025, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

Annual award recognizes outstanding elementary music teachers in DISD

DALLAS (April 17, 2025) – The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is pleased to announce the winner of this year’s Music Teacher of the Year Award. Andra Birdsong is the music and arts teacher at Daniel Webster Elementary School and will formally receive the award at the DSO concert on Saturday, April 19 at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The DSO’s annual award recognizes an outstanding music educator from Dallas Independent School District and comes with a cash prize of $500 underwritten by Mrs. Rita Sue Gold.

“Music is my passion. Music is healing, and it’s also a crucial component of development for children,” said Birdsong. “As an educator, I seek creative solutions to help inspire and motivate students socially and emotionally through music. This is my way of providing the support I wish I’d had in school in Oklahoma growing up.”

Birdsong is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University’s music therapy program. She received her teacher certificate in 2015 and became a board-certified music therapist in 2020. Her primary instrument is percussion, but she has also studied guitar, piano, autoharp and voice. Birdsong has also been designated “Teacher of the Year” on her campus at Webster Elementary for the 2024-25 school year.

The public is invited to celebrate Birdsong as she is presented with the Music Teacher of the Year Award on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. before the DSO’s performance of Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony. Also on the program that evening is the world premiere of American composer Sean Shepherd’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon, featuring the DSO’s principal wind players. For tickets and more information, visit dallassymphony.org.

##

ABOUT THE DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the leadership of Music Director Fabio Luisi, presents more than 150 orchestra concerts each year at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, one of the world’s top-rated concert halls. As the largest performing arts organization in the Southwest, the DSO is committed to inspiring the broadest possible audience with distinctive classical programs, inventive pops concerts and innovative multi-media presentations. As part of its commitment to the community, the orchestra reaches more than 243,000 adults and children annually through performances, educational programs and community outreach initiatives. The orchestra offers more than 200 chamber concerts in neighborhoods throughout Dallas each year, as well as music lessons to more than 1500 students as part of its Young Strings and Young Musicians programs.The DSO has a tradition dating back to 1900 and is a cornerstone of the unique, 118-acre Arts District in Downtown Dallas that is home to multiple performing arts venues, museums and parks – the largest district of its kind in the nation. The DSO is supported, in part, by funds from the Office of Arts & Culture, City of Dallas. For more information, visit dallassymphony.org.

MEDIA CONTACT
Chelsey Norris, Director of Communications | Dallas Symphony Orchestra
c.norris@dalsym.com | 813.362.5251