By Mark Taylor

It’s one of the top four biggest honors in American entertainment, and this year SFCM faculty have earned nominations across multiple categories for the GRAMMYs in 2022. 

Roots, Jazz, and American Music instructor and vocalist Carmen Bradford earned her second nomination for her work in, Live at Birdland! with the Count Basie Orchestra directed by Scotty Barnhart. The album was nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. “I found out we received the Grammy Nomination from Scotty Barnhart. He sent us a group text. Needless to say, we are very excited!” Bradford said. She has been a vocalist with the Count Basie Orchestra for more than 40 years, “Working with the Count Basie Orchestra directed by Scotty Barnhart, is like going home to work with family. They are always swinging, giving 100% to each and every performance, and I'm learning something new each performance. These are some of the greatest jazz musicians on the planet, and they are like a well oiled machine,” Bradford added. 

The San Francisco Symphony which includes 26 SFCM faculty members earned two nominations for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Compendium. Scott Pingel is principal bassist, “I'm thrilled to have been a part of the two recordings of the San Francisco Symphony with Music Directors past and present which have been nominated for Grammy awards in the same year! These two recordings were very special for me,” Pingel said. 

For Best Orchestral Performance, the recording of Nico Muhly’s Throughline, featuring contributions from all eight of the San Francisco Symphony’s Collaborative Partners and Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen was nominated. Muhly also recently collaborated with recent SFCM grad Lukáš Janata (MM ’19) to be featured as part of the SFS Soundbox series. “The Throughline with our amazing new Music Director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and our collaborative partners was a whirlwind of creativity and an inspiring bright light during what was a difficult time for everyone,” Pingel said of the experience.

For Best Classical Compendium the SFS was nominated for the live-concert recording at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco of Alban Berg: Violin Concerto, Seven Early Songs, & Three Pieces for Orchestra conducted by Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas. “I have long admired the compositional prowess of Alban Berg, and it was sublime to perform and record these masterpieces with MTT as well as soloists Gil Shaham and Susanna Phillips. We are all proud of these releases, and grateful for the honor!” Pingel added.

Guitar instructor Sérgio Assad, the first musician from SFCM’s recently acquired Opus 3 Artists to join the faculty, was included in nominations for Best Classical Composition and Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. Both nominations stem from his work in Archetypes featuring himself, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion. 

SFCM also helped contribute to the 2022 GRAMMYs in October when members of the Recording Academy came to the new Bowes Center for a listening event. Members of the prestigious Academy used specialized sound equipment and a studio from the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) Program to judge a category. To preserve the privacy and integrity of the awards, the category and specific judges must remain anonymous, but most guests were renowned, GRAMMY Award-winning producers and engineers.

Find out who wins in these categories at the GRAMMY Awards ceremony on January 31st, 2022. 

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album 
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new ensemble jazz recordings. 

• Live At Birdland! 
  The Count Basie Orchestra Directed by Scotty Barnhart with vocalist Carmen Bradford.

Best Orchestral Performance
Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.

• Muhly: Throughline
  Nico Muhly, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)

Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.

• Berg: Violin Concerto; Seven Early Songs & Three Pieces For Orchestra
  Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.

• Archetypes
  Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad & Third Coast Percussion

Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer's Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable. 

• Assad, Clarice & Sérgio, Connors, Dillon, Martin & Skidmore: Archetypes
  Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin & David Skidmore, composers (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad & Third Coast Percussion)