It’s Grammy week and Blair will be well represented at Sunday’s 66th annual ceremonies, as two faculty members and a composition alumnus are up for awards.
Lauded bassist and composer Edgar Meyer received three nominations for Best Global Music Performance, Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, through his collaboration with Bela Fleck and Zakir Hussain, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia. Meyer’s illustrious career includes five Grammy wins and a total of 13 nominations. He has served as adjunct instructor of bass at Blair School of Music since 1994.
“These nominations are particularly rewarding in that they arise out of associations spanning multiple decades,” said Meyer. “Bela and I have been close friends for more than 40 years. We started working with Zakir in 2005, and he introduced us to Rakesh, who started working with us sometime around 2015. The entire 40 years has been a remarkable journey, with all of us learning from each other, and maybe with me learning the most.”
Dashon Burton, an acclaimed bass-baritone vocalist and two-time Grammy winner, has been honored with a 2024 nomination for Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance as a member of groundbreaking vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. Burton serves as assistant professor of voice at Blair.
“It’s my honor and responsibility to help my students through my experience as a musician,” said Burton. “Having a Grammy nomination is a wonderful experience indeed to bring to the Blair community!”
Attending his first Grammy Awards will be William Brittelle (BMus’99), a composition graduate who is nominated for Best Contemporary Composition. Brittelle’s “Psychedelics” was recorded by Roomful of Teeth. The Brooklyn-based composer and producer will release a new mini-album, Alive in the Electric Snow Dream, February 23 on New Amsterdam Records.
The 66th Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, February 4, 5:00-8:30 PM PT / 7:00-10:30 PM CT, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.