Barry Manilow just announced that music teacher Daniel Perelstein is the winner of his Manilow Music Project Teacher Award in St. Paul and will receive a $10,000 grant from the Manilow Fund. The Manilow Music Project Award Contest is part of Manilow’s Last, Last Tour and was created to support high school music teachers and bands throughout the United States.

10 local high schools in each tour city submitted the names of their favorite music teachers and then voted to select the winner. The winning high school, Washington Technology, will receive $5,000 in new band instruments for their school band and the winning teacher, Daniel Perelstein, will receive another $5,000 grant.

Manilow launched the Manilow Music Project in response to a friend’s request for a saxophone for his high school daughter. Manilow was surprised to discover that most public schools had suffered considerable budget cuts in their school music programs and that high school music teachers were taking part time jobs just to raise the money to buy new drum sticks or a used trumpet so kids could play in the band. With no staff and all volunteers from the community and Manilow’s management company, the Manilow Music Project has gifted more than $10 million in instruments and scholarships to high school and college music students throughout the United States.

Details on the Manilow Music Project are online at manilowmusicproject.org