Faculty, alums win Grammy Awards
Left to right: Bass-baritone Dashon Burton, faculty composer Christopher Theofanidis, violinist Austin Hartman, and cellist Brandon Vamos. Photos courtesy of the artists.
Several YSM faculty and alums won Grammy Awards on Sunday, March 14.
Bass-baritone Dashon Burton ’11MM won a Grammy Award in the “Best Classical Solo Vocal Album” category for his recording, with soprano Sarah Brailey and the Experiential Chorus and Orchestra led by conductor James Blachly, of Ethel Smyth’s The Prison.
Violist Richard O’Neill and conductor David Alan Miller won a Grammy Award in the “Best Classical Instrumental Solo” category for their recording, with the Albany Symphony, of faculty composer Christopher Theofanidis’ Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra. Theofanidis earned his master-of-musical-arts degree and his doctor-of-musical-arts degree from YSM in 1994 and 1997, respectively.
The Pacifica Quartet, whose members include violinist Austin Hartman ’06AD and cellist Brandon Vamos ’94MM ’95AD, won a Grammy Award in the “Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance” category for Contemporary Voices.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel won a Grammy Award in the “Best Orchestral Performance” category for their recording of Ives’ complete symphonies. The orchestra’s roster includes Associate Conductor Paolo Bortolameolli ’13MM, violinists Vijay Gupta ’07MM, Edith Markman ’73MM, and Jin-Shan Dai MM, and clarinetist and Yale College alum David Howard ’77BA. Charles Ives graduated from Yale in 1898.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and its Music Director JoAnn Falletta won a Grammy Award in the “Best Choral Performance” category for its recording of Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshuah. The recording also features the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, UCLA Chamber Singers, soprano Hila Plitmann, mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges, tenor Timothy Fallon, and baritones James Bass, Kenneth Overton, and Matthew Worth. The Buffalo Philharmonic includes oboist and English horn player Anna Mattix ’98MM, violinist Ansgarius Aylward ’69MM and double-bassist Nicholas Jones ’12AD.
Please join us is congratulating these remarkable artists.
