JOHNSON CITY (March 18, 2021) – National Teacher of the Year honors for 2021 were bestowed upon Dr. Benjamin D. Caton III of East Tennessee State University by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) during its virtual annual conference.
Caton’s unanimous selection by the MTNA for this award “testifies to his unparalleled dedication to education and service in music,” according to his colleague, Dr. Esther Park, associate professor of piano in the ETSU Department of Music. “This honor is only bestowed upon the best of the best teachers, and the fact that the MTNA unanimously voted to honor him is a testament to Dr. Caton’s legacy.”
“This is an incredible honor for a well-deserving professor,” added Dr. Matthew Potterton, chair of the Department of Music. “Dr. Caton has dedicated his life to his profession, his students, and to his alma mater, ETSU.”
This prestigious award comes a year after the Tennessee Music Teachers Association (TMTA) named Caton its 2020 Teacher of the Year.
Caton recently retired after 46 years on the faculty of the ETSU Department of Music. Following his retirement, he was recognized in a special ceremony with Professor Emeritus status and the presentation of a Joint Resolution by the Tennessee Senate sponsored by Sen. Rusty Crowe of Johnson City and Sen. Steve Southerland of Morristown in honor of Caton’s distinguished career.
Caton has long been active with the MTNA. He served for 10 years on the Southern Division board, including a term as president. During his 10 years on the MTNA board of directors, he held the office of president and numerous other roles.
Caton has also served on the state and local levels of the TMTA, including terms as president, recording secretary and collegiate auditions chair.
In addition, Caton spent two terms as a member of the music advisory panel of the Tennessee Arts Commission.
Caton’s many honors include ETSU’s 2014 Distinguished Faculty Award in Service, one of the top three awards presented to faculty at the university. He was the inaugural TMTA Distinguished Service Award recipient in 2004, and received the MTNA Distinguished Service Award in 2017. He was named an MTNA Foundation Fellow and received an Award of Excellence from the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Foundation for the Advancement of Music. He also earned the John Phillip Sousa Award while playing trombone in his high school band.
Caton holds his bachelor’s degree in music education from ETSU and his master’s and doctoral degrees from The Ohio State University, as well as the Pedagogy/Musicianship Certificate from the Kodaly Musical Training Institute.
Caton has taught at all levels from first grade to graduate courses. His teaching career began in the Morristown City Schools, where he taught elementary school music for three years before entering The Ohio State University. He joined the ETSU faculty in 1972. At ETSU, he taught for seven years in grades 1-6 at University School while teaching music education methodology, and later music theory, aural skills, piano literature, piano pedagogy, applied piano, and history and philosophy of music education at the collegiate level. His articles have appeared in Clavier, Music Educators Journal, American Music Teacher and The Tennessee Musician.
Caton loved to quote Robert Schumann’s statement, “There is no end to learning,” and he continued to learn and grow beyond his formal education. He attended the fourth International Kodaly Seminar in Kecskemet, Hungary; the 16th annual International Music Workshop in Exeter, England; the International Keyboard Institute and Festival from 2006-2008 at the Mannes School of Music in New York; and Art of the Piano at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 2019. He attended the semifinal and final rounds of the Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017.
“Fortunate are adults who view their work as children view their play,” Caton often says. “I’ve been blessed and fortunate to be a teacher. I would not trade it for any other career.”