Carnegie Mellon University: CMU Alumni Nominated for Grammys in Four Categories
Carnegie Mellon University will once again be represented at the Grammy Awards, set to take place on the West Coast on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, on CBS. CMU netted four nominations for the 2022 awards, announced at noon, EST today.
In the Musical Theater Category, School of Drama alumnus Stephen Schwartz, who graduated from CMU’s College of Fine Arts in 1968, earned a nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for “Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook” produced by Schwartz, Daniel C. Levine, Michael J Moritz Jr. and Bryan Perri. Schwartz also served as composer and lyricist on the album, which featured a world premiere cast. He has won four Grammys previously.
Faculty members from CMU’s School of Music who also are members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra were nominated in the Classical Category for Best Orchestral Performance for “Beethoven: Symphony No. 9” under the direction of Manfred Honeck, conductor, and joined by the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. Also nominated in this category are two orchestras for whom CMU School of Music alumni are instrumentalists. Alison Fierst, who graduated in 2018 from the School of Music, is associate principal flute for the New York Philharmonic, and two are in the Nashville Symphony — Joel Reist, who graduated from the School of Music in 1993, is principal bass, and Jeremy Williams, who graduated from the School of Music in 1996, is second violin.
Country music favorites Dan + Shay were nominated in the Country Category for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Glad You Exist.” Dan Smyers is a 2010 Tepper School of Business graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance. The Pittsburgh native and his musical partner, Shay Mooney, have won three Grammy Awards to date.
Leslie Odom, Jr., a 2003 alumnus of CMU’s School of Drama was nominated in the Music for Visual Media Category for Best Song Written for Visual Media. He earned the nomination for writing “Speak Now,” from the feature film, “One Night in Miami,” and shares the nod with fellow songwriter Sam Ashworth. The film also was nominated in this category for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media; Odom, Jr. and various artists recorded the album. He previously won for as part of the team for Best Musical Theater album for “Hamilton” in 2015.