Grammy-Nominated Point Boro Choir Teacher Inspires Students' Passion For Music

POINT PLEASANT, NJ — When Felicia Villa walked into Point Pleasant High School in September 2020 to teach music, she knew she was going to face some challenges.

She was teaching in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, at a time when schools were mixing virtual learning with in-class instruction, where masks were required and music classes presented significant concerns about spreading the virus.

Villa also was a first-year teacher who had just graduated from Westminster Choir College in May 2020.

Those, however, were the least of her challenges. Villa, who was nominated earlier this year for the 2025 Grammy Music Educator of the Year award, was inheriting a choral program with just nine students.

"It was definitely a shock to have that," Villa said, referring to the low chorus participation when she started. But she set to work to make the program one that kids wanted to be part of.

Four years later, the Point Pleasant choral program has 54 students, and they are performing at a wide range of events, including the borough's Christmas tree lighting and at a Coast Guard retirement ceremony.

The spring high school chorus concert is 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, and on June 5, the choir is taking part in a much larger undertaking: a concert collaboration with Manasquan High School and Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church at St. Denis Roman Catholic Church in Manasquan.

Villa said the choir program participation has grown in part from her advocating for it, and in part from word of mouth among the student body as they realized someone new was in charge of the program and was making it a fun experience.

"The students have encouraged each other, and we've grown from within the student body we have," Villa said. "I've got the swimmers, the football players," and kids in a variety of clubs.

"It's all founded on the idea that everyone likes to make music," she said.

Her impact on the program is what led a former student to nominate her for the Grammy Music Educator Award, which honors current educators from kindergarten through college in both public and private schools "who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who advocate for the ongoing inclusion of music education in schools," according to the Grammy Awards website.

Villa is one of 215 quarterfinalists for the 2025 award, out of more than 2,400 nominations, according to the website. In addition, 159 people who were "legacy applicants" from 2024 are eligible for the 2025 award, according to the Grammy website.

She said she knew early on that she wanted to do something with music as a career, and she had teachers who not only nurtured her love of music but cultivated a passion for teaching.

"I had several phenomenal teachers in high school," said Villa, who attended Mineola High School in New York. There was her band teacher, Dan Carreras, and Joe Owens, who taught music theory. And there was Meg Messina, Villa's choral teacher.

"She was the person who I saw and thought I have to be this," Villa said. No matter what her teachers did in their off hours, "they would come in the next day with their coffee and their smiles," she said.

"In music (teaching) you can't have a bad day because it affects your students," Villa said.

Villa's passion for music has inspired her students to a degree that has even surprised her.

"They are willing to go the extra mile to understand what they're singing, to understand the historical context," she said. Her favorite is classical music, because it is deep-rooted in traditions.

She also teaches her students about the emotional context of the music they perform, which ranges from classical to Billy Joel to Simon and Garfunkel and more, Villa said.

"It's more than just the right pitches and right rhythms," she said. "You're learning about being a team but in a very different context. It's how do you as a human being connect to the music and how do you relate it to each other. That's what makes everything meaningful — it's about the exhilaration of getting to that common goal."

Their passion for learning all the background of the music isn't the only thing she admires about her students.

Villa was absent for a week in March, and while she was away her students learned a new song.

"They learned an entire song without me in eight parts," Villa said. "They had their own gumption to learn it. I'm over the moon."

"Four years ago we could barely sing," she said. "What other teacher can say their students would put in the time and dedication to learn it on their own?"

Villa has been preparing the students not only for Wednesday's high school chorus concert but for the large concert collaboration with Manasquan High School and Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The group will perform the Fauré Requiem, accompanied by a professional orchestra, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5 at St. Denis Church in Manasquan, Villa said.

"It's a lot of collaboration," she said, and "it gives the parents a chance to hear something they'd only hear at Lincoln Center."

Community engagement is very important to Villa, something she had learned growing up, and the joint performance is her way to give back to the community. She said she keeps the school administration busy with suggestions for performances and ways to immerse the students in music.

Giving back is why her student, a member of the Class of 2022, nominated her for the 2025 Music Educator Award sponsored by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum.

Semifinalists for the award are scheduled to be announced later in 2024, then 10 finalists are chosen with the ultimate recipient being celebrated for their profound impact on students' lives. The 11th annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 67th Grammy Awards and participate in various Grammy Week events. The nine other finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. Additionally, 15 semifinalists will be awarded a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.

"They say it takes a village and Point Pleasant certainly embodies that saying," Villa said. "I am eternally grateful for the support that I receive from my colleagues, administration and the board of ed. Their support and encouragement is something I hope every district strives for."