Cooney Named 40 Under 40 Music Educators

Yamaha announced that it has named Megan Cooney as an honoree of the newly launched 40 Under 40 music education advocacy program.

Cooney, director of athletic bands and associate director of bands at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, joins 39 other innovative, creative and impactful music educators under the age of 40 who exemplify the highest level of music education in the United States.

When Cooney was hired at St. Ambrose University in 2015, she was tasked with an exciting challenge: start a collegiate marching band program from scratch.

"Every aspect of our program has been built by me. I designed the uniforms; we lined every field; we created every student body chant or cheer; my students and I built every instrument storage unit; we take every photo and video; we create every social media post, graphic and audio recording; I assembled every instrument; I built and towed every trailer; I carried every large purchase across campus," she said.

But Cooney wouldn't have it any other way because teaching students the responsibility of helping to run the music program gives them real-world skills and a sense of ownership regardless of their majors.

In one of her "40 Under 40" nomination letters, a colleague wrote, "The success of the St. Ambrose athletic bands has been awe-inspiring, and the connections Megan has made with her students and high school students in the state of Iowa is nothing short of amazing."

Every year, Cooney has added new components to the program, such as additional scholarships, new student leadership positions and new programs like the indoor marching arts ensembles. Although the pandemic stalled some of her plans, she has ambitious goals for the coming years. "Once we get through coronavirus, I want to get back on track with performance preparation, continue to strengthen our student leadership program, create additional part-time staffing positions and begin building our two new competitive WGI programs for indoor percussion and winter guard," Cooney said.

She also manages to find time for community outreach. Cooney has presented clinics and recruited from area high schools, and she has collaborated with other universities that are interested in how she started St. Ambrose's music program.

The 40 Under 40 music education advocacy program was established by Yamaha to celebrate music educators at all grade levels, public or private, as well as private music instructors, selected from hundreds of music education leaders nominated by students, parents, other teachers or administrators, local instrument dealers and mentors last fall.

All recognized educators possess outstanding exemplification of one of four qualities: action, courage, creativity or growth. The profilees were selected based on their ability to proactively take the necessary steps that lead to a stronger music program; propose and implement new or bold ideas; show innovation and imagination in achieving plans and objectives; and establish and grow or improve music education in their schools and communities.

"Despite immense challenges, educators are undertaking the most innovative, creative and impactful programs to truly make a difference in strengthening music education nationwide," said Heather Mansell, segment marketing manager, Education, Yamaha. "Yamaha shares the same commitment to high-quality music education for all, and we look forward to supporting and encouraging the efforts of these 40 outstanding educators and the thousands more like them across the country."

About Yamaha
Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) is the largest subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, Japan and offers a full line of award-winning musical instruments, sound reinforcement, commercial installation and home entertainment products to the U.S. market. Products include: Yamaha acoustic, digital and hybrid pianos, portable keyboards, guitars, acoustic and electronic drums, band and orchestral instruments, marching percussion products, synthesizers, professional digital and analog audio equipment, Steinberg recording products and NEXO commercial audio products, as well as AV receivers, amplifiers, MusicCast wireless multiroom audio systems, Blu-ray/CD players, earphones, headphones, home-theater-in-a-box systems, sound bars and its exclusive line of Digital Sound Projectors. YCA markets innovative, finely crafted technology and entertainment products and musical instruments targeted to the hobbyist, education, worship, music, professional audio installation and consumer markets.