On Friday, Nov. 10, the Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 66th Grammy Awards, with several CalArtians among 98 genre-spanning categories.
Up for Best Opera Recording is Black Lodge by Timur and the Dime Museum and featuring the Isaura String Quartet. The band is fronted by former School of Music faculty Timur Bekbosunov (Music MFA 08), and rounded out with fellow alums Daniel Corral (Music MFA 07), Andrew Lessman (Music BFA 09), Matthew Setzer (Music MFA 08), and David Tranchina (Music MFA 08). The quartet is similarly composed of CalArtians: violinists Emily Call (Music MFA 13) and Madeline Falcone (Music MFA 13) and cellist Betsy Rettig (Music MFA 12).
Among the Best Recording Package nominees is the Gravity Falls soundtrack, designed by Iam8bit. The soundtrack to the hit animated series—created by CalArts alum Alex Hirsch (Film/Video BFA 07)—was composed by LA-based composer and songwriter Brad Breeck (Music MFA 03).
Nominated for Best Historical Album is Lou Reed’s Words & Music, May 1965 – Deluxe Edition, with CalArts honorary doctorate Laurie Anderson (1996) named as one of the compilation producers.
Another CalArts honorary degree recipient is up for a Grammy: Esperanza Spalding, who received the distinction in 2022, shares nominations with Fred Hersch for Best Jazz Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Album for But Not For Me and Alive At The Village Vanguard, respectively.
2003 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts in Music recipient Vijay Iyer has also nabbed nominations in two categories. He shares a nod with Arooj Aftab and Shahzad Ismaily for Love In Exile in the Best Alternative Jazz Album category, and another in Best Global Music Performance for Shadow Forces, also with Aftab and Ismaily.
Musical contributions by CalArtians extended beyond the list of nominees. On AleMor’s album Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1, which is nominated for Best Latin Pop Album, is the track “Kintsugi,” with CalArts alum Manu Beker (Music BFA 22) credited as a songwriter. A nominee in Best Classical Compendium also heavily features alums—Wild Up’s album Julius Eastman, Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?, conducted by Christopher Rountree, includes the following CalArtian credits: Richard Valitutto (Music MFA 11), Matt Cook (Music MFA 10), Jodie Landau (Music BFA 15), Molly Pease (Music MFA 17), Odeya Nini (Music MFA 11), Sharon Chohi Kim (Music MFA 14), Fahad Siadat (Music MFA 09, DMA 18), Andrew Tholl (Music MFA 08, DMA 12), Mona Tian (Music MFA 13), Rachel Iba (Music MFA 17), Andrew McIntosh (Music MFA 08), Derek Stein (Music MFA 10), Jonathan Richards (Music MFA 18), Breana Glicher (Music MFA 17), Archie Carey (Music MFA 11), Brian Walsh (Music MFA 08), M.A. Tiesenga (Music MFA 19), and Jonah Levy (Music 11).
The 2024 Grammys will take place on Sunday, Feb. 4 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will air live on CBS at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT and will stream on Paramount+. Find the full list of nominees at the Grammy Awards website.
