WELLESLEY, MASS. (WHDH) - Kevin McDonald, also known as D-Mac, is entering his 23rd year as choral director at Wellesley High School.
“He’s more than just a teacher, more than just a conductor for our choirs. He’s someone that we all really look up to,” Connor Maccormack said, a senior at Wellesley High School.
Now, his work is being recognized nationally. McDonald is one of 30 teachers from around the country to receive the Country Music Association Foundation’s Music Teachers of Excellence Award. The honor recognizes teachers’ contributions to their classrooms and communities.
“I think that we are very fortunate here in the Wellesley community because we uplift education itself and we have a strong appreciation for the arts,” McDonald said. “It was something that I’ll never forget.”
McDonald attended the star-studded ceremony in Nashville last week with a presentation from Country Music Star Zac Brown.
“The theme was legacy, and they talked about leaving a legacy ‘one note at a time,'” McDonald said.
What better way to talk about legacy than with a message from the late Dolly Parton? The surprise of the weekend McDonald calls “surreal.”
“I’ve always believed that music brings us together, but none of that happens without dedicated teachers who encourage, inspire and believe in the next generation,” Parton said in the message.
“When Dolly passed in August, everyone knew that it was a big loss to the performance community. But those who have been paying attention know that Dolly stood for much, much more,” McDonald said.
At a time when other school districts across the country are cutting their arts programs, McDonald says the lessons learned through music are more important than ever.
“Music is oftentimes seen as the ‘fringe’ — all of the arts are oftentimes put as ‘the extra,’ when in reality, we’re the essential subject. We teach the whole child, we teach people how to feel, we teach the importance of human connection, and through our music we also improve our academics, quite frankly,” McDonald said.
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