Downers Grove North teacher earns Distinguished Service Award

DOWNERS GROVE – Brayer Teague, who chairs the Downers Grove North High School Fine Arts Department, has been selected by the Illinois Music Education Association to receive the 2022 Distinguished Service Award.

Teague will be recognized by the ILMEA at the end of January at the organization’s annual conference in Peoria.

Brayer’s “work in multiple leadership roles and as a past state president demonstrates extraordinary commitment that exemplifies leadership in the field of music education within our state,” according to the ILMEA. Teague has been an educator for 32 years.

“Brayer’s work ethic is second to none. Not only does he work an incredible amount of hours, no job is beneath him,” said Janice Schwarze, who retired as North High’s principal last year. “Brayer is the epitome of what one looks for in an educator and a leader, and I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to work closely with him for eight years.”

Retired Downers Grove South High School Fine Arts Department Chair Glenn Williams, one of Teague’s nominators, shared, “Brayer has a capacity for service and for work that is rare in human beings. As a colleague in D99, I always aspired to do about 30% of what Brayer was doing, knowing that kept me in the 99th percentile for work output for much of the human race.”

Since 1989, Teague has contributed his expertise and service to ILMEA. He has served in a variety of roles including festival host, band representative, vice president and, most recently, ILMEA president. Additionally, Teague has presented multiple clinics to educators including “The Paperless Tour,” and moderated a panel focused on diversity, equity, access and inclusion in the music classroom.

A graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Teague began his career in Highland Park in 1990, before joining North High in 1993. He was a top-10 finalist for the National GRAMMY Music Educator Award (2016), has been recognized five times by the Marquis “Who’s Who in American Teaching,” and was named a Golden Apple Scholar finalist. Teague also received the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award, and is a National Board Certified Teacher.

An advocate for music performance tours, Teague has led student music tours to Ireland, Germany, England, Italy, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Canada and a host of cities in the United States. He is a member of the National Education Association and the National Association for Music Education.

“We are extremely proud that Brayer has been recognized as a leader in music education in Illinois,” said North High’s Principal Courtney DeMent. “We are lucky to have him in our district as he provides so many unique opportunities for our music students to thrive.”

For information on the ILMEA and opportunities for student musicians and music educators, visit www.ilmea.org.