The 2024 Prize

Meet the winner of the 2024 Prize of The Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts

The Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts is delighted to announce the winner of the 2024 Prize: Music Education. Mia Black, a music educator currently living in Utah Valley and with multiple experiences living abroad is developing a curriculum for elementary-aged students through a book, titled “American Folk Music.” Black is the winner of the $5,000 Endowment Prize. The development and distribution of Black's completed curriculum is supported by an additional generous grant of $10,000 from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation.​​

The American Folk Music Book

The American Folk Music book will function as an organized collection of folk songs to be used in a classroom setting organized by the story of immigration to America. It is proposed to include the following units for classroom discussion and exploration:

1. Native American

2. Folk Music from Colonial America

3. African Folk & Slave Songs

4. European Folk: Irish, British, Dutch

5. Chinese Folk

6. Japanese Folk

7. Mexican Folk

8. Latin American Folk

9. Indian Folk

10. Polynesian Folk

The American Folk Music project will adhere to Kodály music education theory, which suggests that students should learn music through the folk songs of their history and culture. Black, in particular, understands both the benefits and challenges of applying this theory to her work. She states, “American history and culture incorporate stories and traditions from many different sources around the globe. There is a great need for more inclusive literature in our classrooms that accurately represents the many cultures that exist within our country.” 

Each unit will include songs, lessons and historical context to help elementary-aged students understand and celebrate the inherent multicultural nature of the United States. Folk music from local Native American cultures, Southern slave songs, Latin American music, Asian music, Irish music, and more will be included in the book. Of the broad inclusion of culture and ethnicity in the curriculum, Black says, “They should all have a place within American folk music - as they represent the diversity of our students that makes up our true American heritage.”

Working alongside mentors from The Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, Kodály-certified experts and specialized ethnomusicologists, Black will collect and organize various songs from the different cultures and verify their authenticity.

Regarding the potential impact of the book, Black shares “I hope that this curriculum will help teachers in their endeavors to teach more multicultural music in their classrooms in a practical and culturally aware manner. I also hope that this curriculum will help to expand our idea of what being American really means.”

About Development

The Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts is an annual prize/commission for the creation of new art and scholarship by Latter-day Saints. The nine disciplines represented by the Endowment correspond to career highlights and passions of Ariel Bybee and are in honor of her. Each year, The Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts announces a call for submissions open to LDS artists and scholars in one of nine, rotating categories: opera, dance, scholarship, art songs, youth education, hymns, visual arts, collaborative arts, and choral music.

Former winners of the Endowment include: S. Andrew Lloyd (2021) and Susannah and Gonzalo Silva (2022). Lloyd's world premiere developed through the inaugural Bybee prize, art songs, will show at Carnegie Hall in April, 2024, with internationally-acclaimed soprano, Rachel Willis-Sørenson. The Silva's visual art exhibition is also slated for spring, 2024, at Sargent's Daughters gallery in New York City.

Neylan McBaine, chair of The Ariel Bybee Endowment, and Glen Nelson, co-founder and director of special projects for the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, share their support regarding Black’s place among the other Bybee Prize winners. “[We] are completely confident that Mia’s work is going to be extraordinary,” says Nelson.

About Adjudication

The 2024 Prize has been adjudicated with the expectation that Black’s selected proposal will be developed, written and finalized to the point of being ready for publication or production.

This year’s Prize included the following jurors:

• Neylan McBaine (author, music education business owner, and chair of The Ariel Bybee Endowment)

• Jamie Peterson (voice faculty, University of Utah and Utah Valley University)

• Patrick Perkins (former Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Warner Bros)

• Benton Paul (entrepreneur)

• and Jihea Hong-Park (piano faculty at Brigham Young University)

Benton Paul, a tv producer and former singer-songwriter, says this about the adjudication process, “I'm so excited for music educators to see what Mia is working on. It will be a celebration of the wonderful melting pot that is America.”

About Mia Black

Mia Black is a passionate music educator with a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Brigham Young University, specializing in choral education and folk music research. She has worked at music studios in Colorado and Utah, and currently manages a private music studio where she teaches independently designed piano and voice curriculum that focuses on comprehensive theory and creative development. 

Originally from Ellensburg, Washington, Black’s upbringing is enriched by diverse cultural experiences, including her middle school years spent in Istanbul, Turkey, attending an international school, and later full-time missionary service in the Armenia/Georgia mission speaking Georgian.

Currently based in Utah Valley with her husband and 6-month-old son, she enjoys teaching, spending time with family, and making music. She is committed to creating inclusive and enriching music education experiences that empower students to explore their creativity and musical potential, as well as fostering an environment of belonging.