New York, NY – April 22, 2019 – THE JIMMY AWARDS® is pleased to announce the 2019 INSPIRING TEACHER AWARD presented by WELLS FARGO will be given to Matthew Hinson, Northwest School of the Arts, Charlotte, North Carolina and Tasha Partee, Lawrence Woodmere Academy, Woodmere, New York for the encouragement and inspiration that led their students to win the coveted Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor.

The 2018 Jimmy® for Best Performance by an Actress was presented to Reneé Rapp representing The Blumey Awards and the 2018 Jimmy® for Best Performance by an Actor was presented to Andrew Barth Feldman representing The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance. This year’s Inspiring Teacher Award presented by Wells Fargo will be awarded to Reneé’s teacher, Matthew Hinson, and to Andrew’s teacher, Tasha Partee.

The eleventh annual awards ceremony will take place on Monday, June 24, 2019 at 7:30PM at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45th Street, in Manhattan.

86 high school students from 43 regional programs across America will compete for the Jimmy® for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress at the eleventh annual presentation. The talent showcase will feature dynamic ensemble and solo performances.

“Wells Fargo is a proud supporter of the arts across the country. We have sponsored the National High School Musical Theatre Awards’ regional program in Charlotte since its inception,” said Jay Everette, SVP and Community Affairs Manager, Wells Fargo & Co. “Wells Fargo also supports the regional programs in Omaha and Seattle. We are pleased to continue our support at the national level by honoring two exceptional teachers at the Jimmy Awards.”

“Around the country, more and more young people are getting involved with theatre. We are delighted to celebrate their accomplishments as well as the work of those who help them, day in and day out, develop their talents and a lifelong appreciation of the arts,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. “Matthew Hinson and Tasha Partee are just two of these outstanding educators. They nurtured and encouraged their students who in turn excelled at last year’s Jimmy Awards, and we are so pleased to present them with the Inspirational Teacher Award presented by Wells Fargo.”

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Education Alliance (BEA), the mission of the National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®) is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers, and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts.

Student performers qualify as nominees at the Jimmy Awards by winning top honors at regional high school musical theatre awards competitions presented by Broadway League member performing arts centers. Over 1,700 high schools and 100,000 students participate in these annual events. Since its inception in 2009, the NHSMTA has enabled over $2,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships to be awarded to talented students at the national and local level—several of whom have already been cast in Broadway, Touring and West End productions.

The 2019 Jimmy Awards nominees will prepare for their debut on a Broadway stage during a ten-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts' New Studio on Broadway faculty members plus other theatre professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts.

The Jimmy Awards are presented by the Broadway League Foundation in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, and are supported by many leading theatre industry organizations. More information about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards program can be found at JimmyAwards.com.

The Broadway League conducts the program through The Broadway League Foundation, which acts as its philanthropic arm. Part of the Foundation’s mission is to enlighten and increase the public's knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the theatrical arts, and since its founding in 1993, has supported a number of projects to help preserve Broadway's heritage and introduce new audiences to Broadway theatre. The Foundation is a corporation organized under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York, the purposes of which are exclusively charitable as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Donations to support the program can be made at JimmyAwards.com.

BIOS

Matthew Hinson - Matthew Hinson has spent the last 13 years serving as Musical Director for the Musical Theatre programs at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, NC, where he teaches audition and performance skills, technique, history and industry to musical theatre students in grades 6-12. During his tenure at NWSA he has served as MD for over 65 musical productions and has garnered awards for his work in both musical direction and education. In addition to teaching at Northwest, Hinson also serves as MD for local community theatres, as well as Associate Conductor for Carolina Voices’ MainStage Choir, a non-profit choral group producing “choral theatre.” He has taught master classes both domestic and abroad, he is a guest artist for the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, a rehearsal and audition accompanist for The Blumey Awards, and he is currently spending his 16th summer exploring his other interests as Residence Life Director at Summer Ventures in Science and Math at Appalachian State University. He is a proud graduate of East Carolina University. Much respect to his Northwest colleagues – especially Corey Mitchell, Bonnie Fraker and Kelly Petrere – for always modeling inspirational teaching, and much appreciation to his parents for their unconditional love and support in the theatre world!

Tasha Partee - A theatre teacher, director, and choreographer since 2001, Tasha Partee has delighted in working with performers of all ages in New York City and throughout Virginia. Tasha holds an M.A. in Educational Theatre from NYU and a B.F.A. in Theatre Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. Favorite directing credits include Catch Me If You Can, Aida, and Mrs. Schrodinger’s Cat. As an actor, Tasha has trained with HB Studios in New York and recently performed the roles of Cora in The Iceman Cometh and Anna Karenina in Emma, Anna… Onward, both with the Hudson Guild Theatre Company. A former NFL cheerleader for the Baltimore Ravens, Tasha has danced in New York productions of Romeo and Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty and has choreographed for The Onomatopoeia Theatre Company. As a playwright, her work has been produced by the New York International Fringe Festival, the Hudson Guild Theatre Company, and Manhattan Repertory Theatre. Tasha is a proud member

of the Dramatists Guild and currently serves as Upper School Theatre Director at Lawrence Woodmere Academy in New York, where she works with students grades K-12 in theatre and dance.