DENTON (UNT), Texas - University of North Texas alumni picked up several awards at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 12). Here are a round-up of the winners:
Maren Morris
Country star newcomer Maren Morris won big with the Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance.
Snarky Puppy
Snarky Puppy, a group made up of several College of Music alumni, took home the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album Grammy. UNT College of Music alumnus Michael League is the bassist, composer and founder of the band Snarky Puppy. Among the other alumni who make up the band that has roughly two dozen rotating members are Nate Werth, percussion; Justin Stanton, trumpet and keyboards; Harold "Shaun" Martin, keyboards; Bob Lanzetti, guitar; Mike Maher, trumpet; Chris Bullock, tenor saxophone; Chris McQueen, electric guitar; and Jay Jennings, trumpet.
Michael Daugherty
Composition alumni Michael Daugherty won big with three Grammy Awards. He took home the awards for Contemporary Classical, Classical Instrumental Solo and Classical Compendium.
Patricia Racette
Opera stars Patricia Racette and Scott Scully provided vocals for the album “Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles,” which won the Grammy for Best Engineered Album (Classical).
Racette also was part of the group that won for Best Opera Recording.
Tyler Summers
Alumnus Tyler Summers, who is based out of Nashville, played alto and tenor saxophone on Kirk Franklin's Grammy winning Best Gospel Album.
Shaun Martin
Alumnus Harold "Shaun" Martin has been working with Grammy-winning gospel musician Kirk Franklin for the past four albums and this year was producer on the Grammy winning Best Gospel Album.
Rizpah Lowe Fitzgerald
Alumna Rizpah Lowe Fitzgerald played harp on several songs for Kirk Franklin's Grammy winning Best Gospel Album.
Others who received Grammy nominations or worked on projects that received Grammy nominations included:
- UNT alumnus Andrew Savage from the band Parquet Courts which was nominated for Best Recording Package
- UNT alumna Carmen Cusack, who was the principal soloist on the "Bright Star" album which was nominated for the Best Musical Theater Album
- UNT alumni Dave Pietro and Rob Wilkerson, who are members of Darcy James Argue's Secret Society which was nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble for "Real Enemies"
- UNT alumni James Blackwell and Chad Willis who performed with Bob Mintzer who was nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble for "All L.A. Band"
- UNT alumnus Ray Brinker from the Tierney Sutton Band which was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album for "The Sting Variations"
- UNT College of Music faculty member Joseph Banowetz who played piano on "Friedman: Original Piano Compositions" which was nominated for Producer of the Year (Classical)