Empowering Young Creators: Solomon Parham Wins 2025 Minneapolis Educator Leadership Award

Solomon Parham brings more than a passion for music when he steps into a classroom. He brings a philosophy rooted in innovation, community, and opportunity. This year, Solomon’s work was recognized with a 2025 Minneapolis Educator Leadership Award (MELA), honoring his groundbreaking fusion of instrumental music and digital media to inspire the next generation of creators.

Solomon is a veteran music educator who has been teaching since 2003, but he’s anything but traditional. His students learn the fundamentals of band instruments—but also how to create music using digital tools, learning the same techniques professionals use to produce songs, jingles, and film scores. His program, “The Beat Team,” is a career pathway intervention that allows students to explore popular music production, equipping them with 21st century skills and creative confidence.

"I'm not a traditionalist," Solomon explained. “I use technology with acoustic instruments.” His journey into music education began with his father’s advice to pursue teaching—a path that merged his music performance skills with his true gift: communication.

“Music is a skill. My gift is socialization and communication. I put the two together, and voilà—it works in the classroom.”

Solomon’s nomination came from an anonymous community member who was inspired by his creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic. While teaching asynchronously, Solomon released an album and collaborated virtually, demonstrating to students and colleagues that innovation thrives during adversity.

The story behind The Beat Team illustrates Solomon's philosophy. Inspired by his former students in Lansing, Michigan, Solomon admits he didn’t start as a digital music expert—he learned it from them. “I said, ‘Maybe you can teach me how to do this, and I’ll grade you based on how well I learn.’” That humility and willingness to learn from his students shaped the foundation of a program that now equips Minneapolis youth with technical, creative, and collaborative tools for real-world careers.

MELA selection committee member Scott Teigland, a past recipient and educator himself, noted that Solomon’s project stood out because of its sustainability and relevance. “Proposals that provide long-term tools and empower students beyond the classroom always rise to the top,” Scott said. “And Solomon’s blend of analog and digital—acoustic and electronic—meets students exactly where they are today.”

At Northeast Middle School, where Solomon is teaching for the first time this year, his digital music focus is helping build a foundation from scratch. Meanwhile, at Olson, he plans to strengthen an existing band program, blending the old with the new in a 50/50 model.

Fellow Northeast educator, 2023 MELA recipient and selection committee member Shannon McGuire reflected on how MELA allowed her to dream big for her own choir students with a new set of risers. “To be able to dream and then actually see it come true for your students—that’s what MELA makes possible.”

For Solomon, the MELA grant is more than recognition. It’s an opportunity to provide students with high-quality equipment—computers, audio software, keyboard controllers, headphones, and more—that will allow them to compose for TV, theater, commercials, or even therapy. It also helps him integrate digital tools to fill in gaps in live instrumentation, teaching students the importance of timing and collaboration in performance.

He even has a message for the community: “If you have an old instrument gathering dust in the attic or basement—donate it. We call it ‘dust and donate,’ because a student is going to breathe life into that instrument.”

Solomon sees music education as a launchpad. “I want students to take this from a great experience to something that families and community can enjoy. I want them to have artistic ownership and present their lives through their work.”

MELA grants are a project of the John & Denise Graves Foundation in partnership with Achieve Twin Cities. The MELA nomination and selection process is entirely teacher driven. Candidates for the award are nominated by their peers, students, parents, or anyone who admires their work as educators. Finalists are selected by a committee of teachers, administrators, and support staff actively working in the Minneapolis public school district.