The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced that three of its alumni took home a Grammy statuetteSunday night from the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
The win marked the fifth Grammy Award for double-bassist Edgar Meyer, this time for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for “Bass & Mandolin” with mandolinist Chris Thile. Watch their backstage comments.
Pianist Cory Smythe brought home the award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, with “In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores” featuring violinist Hilary Hahn.
Early-music tenor Aaron Sheehan won for his solo work on “Charpentier: La Descente D’Orphée Aux Enfers” in the Best Opera Recording category. Watch his acceptance speech.
“I was completely stunned by the win for Best Opera Recording last night,” Sheehan said. “It was an honor just being nominated among such distinguished colleagues in the field. I am very proud of the work of the Boston Early Music Festival and honored that they have been so loyal to me as one of their singers. All in all, it was a great night for historically informed performance.”
Also appearing on “Charpentier: La Descente D’Orphée Aux Enfers” are Jacobs alumni Kathryn Montoya, oboe and recorder, and Avi Stein, harpsichord, as part of the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble.
Meyer earned a bachelor’s degree from the Jacobs School of Music in 1984, studying with Stuart Sankey. Smythe earned his bachelor’s degree from Jacobs in 1999, having studied with Luba Edlina-Dubinsky, and Sheehan earned his master’s degree in 2001, after working with primary teacher Paul Elliott and Paul Kiesgen.
As one of the world’s premier music schools, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Musichas the most comprehensive music program in the United States and the largest resident faculty of any music education institution. Approximately 1,600 students from all 50 states and over 55 countries study in a conservatory atmosphere — amidst the academic resources of a major research university — with more than 170 full-time faculty members who are among the finest performers, scholars, composers and educators today.
