BATON ROUGE — A Baton Rouge elementary school teacher won New Artist of the Year at the Stellar Awards, one of gospel music's most prestigious honors.

Mark Ellis, a broadcasting teacher at Broadmoor Elementary, received the award alongside his Ablaze Youth Choir on Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina. The ceremony was hosted by gospel music superstar Kirk Franklin.

"To hear my name called, my heart was beating out of my chest," Ellis said. "I was so proud of not just myself, but all the choir members and the producers and everyone who helped, my church family here in Baton Rouge."

Ellis, 21, is the director of the Ablaze Youth Choir at United Christian Faith Ministries of Baton Rouge, where his father, Mark Ellis Sr., is the senior pastor.

"I'm just so happy that we could be recognized at such a young age," he said.

Ellis graduated from LSU in May with a bachelor's degree in communication studies and a minor in business, and is beginning his first year in the classroom this fall.

"It was definitely a lot to just juggle, but I was able to balance it perfectly," Ellis said. "The school system just made it so clear for me. They were supportive, so I was able to teach my students and still be able to go participate in the Stellar Awards, come back home and get right back to class. So it's been an awesome experience."

The Stellar Gospel Music Awards is the first and longest-running televised awards show honoring African American gospel music.