Brahms in Bloom

At this concert, the musicians of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will be honoring the 2026 Music Educator Award winners with a private ceremony before the concert and plaque presentation on stage before the concert starts.

This year’s winners are Barb Bonisteel, The Hochstein School (Special Category), Alice Kanack, Kanack School of Musical Artistry (Special Category), and John Bunce Jr., Rochester City School District (Classroom Music Specialist).

Barb Bonisteel

From the first coos and giggles to confident melodies, Barb Bonisteel, affectionately known by children and parents alike as “Miss Barb”, has spent over 30 years nurturing a lifelong love of music in children. With a love of learning herself, Barb received her degree in Music Education from Humber College of Applied Arts in Ontario, Canada and a Level I Orff certification from the Eastman School of Music. She is also certified in early childhood music education programs, including Music Rhapsody, Music Together, and Kindermusik.

Barb has taught at the David Hochstein Memorial Music School in Rochester, NY since 2001. In 2018 she received the Faculty Service Award for her work teaching young learners with warmth and whimsy. It is her deep belief that musical learning and the associated joy begin at an early age, and that it’s never too soon to begin. 

She, along with her husband Tom, call the canal of Spencerport home, and are the proud parents of three and grandparents of three, all of whom have inherited Barb’s passion for melodies, learning, and the belief that music is a gift for every stage of life.

Alice Kanack

Nicknamed “Mozart’s Mother” by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki in 1984, Alice Kay Kanack has spent 40 years researching, teaching, and writing about how the creative process works in the brain. She has published multiple books in her Creative Ability Development (CAD) Method, which includes her latest works: Improvising String Quartets, Basslines & Fantasies, and Playing From the Heart, available at Creative Ability Development Press. She is the Founder and Executive Director of The Kanack School of Musical Artistry and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Creative Ability Development.

As the founder of the CAD movement, she has been a frequent presenter at the Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference, the American String Teachers Association National Conference, as well as making appearances at the Suzuki Association of Ontario in Canada. She has presented at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in Finland and Columbia University, demonstrating her methods through live performances and workshops. Professor Steven Doane of the Eastman School of Music and the Royal Academy of London writes, “Alice Kanack is an educator of true originality and inspiration, who has been at the forefront of the movement to encourage creativity through musical improvisation in young musicians. At her music school and through her training programs she encourages students of all ages to include improvisation skills in daily practice, as an organic part of one’s musical development. I’m inspired by her continuing exploration of the pedagogical potential of this movement.”

She currently lives in Rochester, NY with her two children, Daphne and Alexander.

John Bunce Jr.

John Bunce Jr., a graduate of the Crane School of Music and Nazareth College, has been a music educator in the Rochester City School District since 1993.  Previously, in 1989, John began the lifelong journey by marrying Betsy, who would help him bring their son, John III, and daughters, Caitlin, Erin, & Teagan, into the world.  John & Betsy’s love for each other and the joy they found in their children would be a most significant source of inspiration and support for John’s work as a music educator and musician.

Throughout his tenure in the RCSD, John served the children of the district, fostering a love for learning through the understanding and making of music with their mind, heart, voice, and body.

Constantly endeavoring to meld the real-life challenges of the children’s lives with the expectations of grades and standards, John has always held the needs of each child as the priority in his daily teaching.

Through the experiences of training in Orff pedagogies, local and national resources, personal life experiences, and musical training, John has always sought to blend established lessons with enthusiasm, energy, and sometimes even original ideas with the day-to-day needs of those he serves.  Other significant influences on John’s work are the efforts of the multitude of colleagues whose efforts he feels exceed his own in so many ways.  John’s work later inspired him to be able to design and implement a music program for the Healthy Heroes camp at MCC, using established and original material to engage RCSD students in music making.

The reward all teachers feel when any student has an ‘Ah-ha!’ moment has graced John’s career many times, and to now experience this recognition of his efforts in the RPO Music Educators Award is one of the most humbling experiences of his life.