Four Eastman alumni and faculty earn this year’s coveted award

Of the 12 Eastman faculty and alumni nominated for Grammy Awards this year, four were named winners at the recent National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.’s 63rd ceremony. This year’s winners are Sarah Brailey ’04E, Maria Schneider ’85E (who earned two), and Christopher Theofanidis ’92E (MM). A Grammy was also awarded to a composition by the late Christopher Rouse, who taught at Eastman for many years. With these additions, Eastman alumni and faculty have now earned a total of 62 Grammy Awards.

Sarah Brailey ’04E was a featured soloist on the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album, The Prison by Ethel Smyth. She has been hailed by The New York Times for her “radiant, liquid tone,” “exquisitely phrased,” and “sweetly dazzling singing” and by Opera UK for “a sound of remarkable purity.”

Maria Schneider ’85E won awards for Best Instrumental Composition for “Sputnik,” and Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for Data Lords. She is among a small few to receive GRAMMYS in multiple genres, having received the award in jazz and classical, as well as for her work with David Bowie.

The Best Classical Instrumental Solo award was given to Richard O’Neill and the Albany Symphony’s performance of the Viola Concerto by composer Christopher Theofanidis ’92E (MM). Theofanidis has had pieces performed by many leading orchestras, including the London Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and many others.

The Best Contemporary Classical Composition was Symphony No. 5 by the late Christopher Rouse, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who taught at Eastman from 1981 to 2002. Rouse was known for vibrantly orchestrated works that explore extremes of expression, from kinetic vehemence to elegiac reflection.