FOR YOUR
GRAMMY® Consideration
JUMP TO: A FINE COMPANION // AKATHIST // AMERICAN COUNTERPOINTS // ARE WE DREAMING THE SAME DREAM? // COLLECTIVE WISDOM // DECODA // KINDS OF ~NOIS // KINETIC // LOST PALACE // LOVE TO MY LIKING // SHIFTING GROUND // SINTA QUARTET PLAYS BEETHOVEN
A FINE COMPANION
ARTIST: ALKEMIE, FREELANCE NUN
”Re-contextualizing 12th-century texts and melodies into a package of psychedelic synth-pop could seem a bit of a stretch. Alkemie’s latest project somehow makes it seem perfectly natural.”
- Early Music America
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Charles Mueller
AKATHIST
ARTIST: THE CHOIR OF TRINITY WALL STREET, ARTEFACT ENSEMBLE, NOVUS NY
Benedict Sheehan’s sublime new oratorio, Akathist, weaves together medieval chant, Anglo-American hymns, gospel, and jazz – offering a unique perspective on sacred music and a radically constructive response to injustice and evil. Akathist asks us to meet the world’s brokenness with gratitude and healing, and thereby to transform ourselves.
Best Choral Performance
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Artefact Ensemble, NOVUS NY
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Benedict Sheehan, Akathist
Best Engineered Album, Classical
John Newton & Jacob Steingart
Producer of the Year, Classical
Blanton Alspaugh
Best Immersive Audio Album
Akathist
AMERICAN COUNTERPOINTS
ARTIST: EXPERIENTIAL ORCHESTRA, JAMES BLACHLY, CURTIS J STEWART
“…performed with passionate commitment” ★★★★★ - BBC Music
“It is a fine example of the sober yet seething angularity of its era, leavened with warm strings and hints of Coplandesque
expansiveness.” - The New York Times
”…it's a disc of musical discoveries, conveyed in compelling performances and warm, close sound.” - The Strad
”American Counterpoints shines a much-deserved light on two important, and thankfully rediscovered, figures in American classical music.” - NPR, All Things Considered
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Curtis Stewart, Julia Perry Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Best Classical Compendium
American Counterpoints
Engineered Album, Classical
Mark Donahue
ARE WE DREAMING THE SAME DREAM?
ARTIST: AKROPOLIS REED QUINTET, PASCAL LE BOEUF, CHRISTIAN EUMAN
Le Boeuf’s album-length composition examines what Ralph Ellison calls “the unity of American experience” by recognizing his musical ancestors — Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Bill T. Jones, and Leonard Bernstein. His composition asks: Are we really dreaming the same American dream, or is our consumer culture overshadowing our own sense of belonging
Best Jazz Performance
Akropolis Reed Quintet, Pascal Le Boeuf, Christian Euman, Strands
Best Instrumental Composition
Pascal Le Boeuf, Strands
Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella
Akropolis Reed Quintet, Pascal Le Boeuf & Christian Euman, Strands
Best Alternative Jazz Album
COLLECTIVE WISDOM
ARTIST: SYBARITE5
“I love the energy of these performances by the New York string quintet, which presents its first new studio album in years. It was worth the wait...” - ★★★★★ - BBC Music
“Some chamber groups attempt to let their hair down and fall flat -what’s striking about this disc is how fearlessly, how naturally Sybarite5 own and inhabit what they play … A terrific collection, superbly played” - The Arts Desk UK
“Like all Sybarite5 pieces, the more you hear it, the deeper it gets. A richly satisfying album.” - Musical America
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Sybarite5, Collective Wisdom
Best Instrumental Composition
Curtis Stewart, Mangas
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Michael Gilbertson, Collective Wisdom
Best Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals
Jackson Greenberg, Apartments
Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella
Movement and Location, Paul Sanho Kim
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Charles Mueller
DECODA
ARTIST: DECODA
“With performances of this quality, you can see why Carnegie — which just named Decoda its first affiliate ensemble — would want to continue an association with these musicians.” - The New York Times
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Valerie Coleman, Revelry
Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella
Decoda & William Bolcom, Three Rags: Poltergeist (Arr. By Hamilton Berry)
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Monte Nickles
KINDS OF ~NOIS
ARTIST: ~NOIS
“~Nois’s rich ensemble tone and dexterous rhythms serve the music quite well. One can readily hear that a lot of preparation was put into Kinds of ~Nois, as the performances are note-perfect and assuredly interpreted.” - Sequenza21
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
~Nois, Kinds of ~Nois
KINETIC
ARTIST: KINETIC
”Anyone who thinks that contemporary classical music is atonal, non-melodic and built mostly on atmosphere should listen to Kinetic. All of the compositions on this 12-track release revolve around themes of nature. The combination of string orchestra and pre-recorded audio from remote eco-systems from around the world is incredible.” - Cultural Attaché
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
The Wilderness Anthology by Patrick Harlin
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Kinetic
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Brad Sayles
LOST PALACE
ARTIST: NICOLE BRADY
Nicole Brady's debut album invites listeners into a cinematic tale centered around a band of musicians who once played in a long Lost Palace. Collaborating with iconic musicians, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Miles Mosley, Mark Guiliana and Lydia Ainsworth, Brady composed and produced the eight-track album in Dolby Atmos, achieving a surreal sense of immersion. The album's sonics carry on the canon of beat-making traditions and classical music, with the psychological multi-narratives reminiscent of 1960s filmmaking. At its core, the album serves as a testament to Brady's prowess in producing, composing, and performing, showcasing her keyboard skills as the foundation of this genre-defying and organically cohesive concept album.
Best Immersive Audio Album
Lost Palace
LOVE TO MY LIKING
ARTIST: ALKEMIE
“Subtle tosses of the voice suggest that even through such emotional turmoil, all might not be lost. Percussive rhythms then slowly build to a frenzy. Even amid the deepest blues, these performances seem to say that there is always a bright side. All one has to do is dance.” - Early Music America
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Charles Mueller
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Alkemie, love to my liking
Classical Instrumental Solo
Niccolo Seligmann, La septime estampie real
SHIFTING GROUND
ARTIST: ALEXI KENNEY
Violinist Alexi Kenney's album Shifting Ground weaves together seminal works for solo violin by J.S. Bach with a collection of pieces from the 17th century to the present day, placing them in vibrant conversation. Premiere recordings of works by Matthew Burtner, Salina Fisher, and Angélica Negrón, some with electronic soundscapes, flow between Alexi's personal arrangements of Schumann and Joni Mitchell, as well as pieces by Eve Beglarian and Nicola Matteis. Shifting Ground is designed to be listened to as a set, traversing surreal dreamscapes, fiery virtuosity, spiritual beauty, and finally culminating in Bach's grand elegiac masterpiece, the Chaconne.
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Alexi Kenney, Shifting Ground
Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella
thank u, next, Alexi Kenney
Engineered Album, Classical
Christopher Moretti
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Angélica Negrón, The Violinist
SINTA QUARTET PLAYS BEETHOVEN: OP.95, OP. 131, OP. 132
ARTIST: SINTA QUARTET
“Their performances give a richness and depth that is uniquely satisfying by virtue of this being all woodwind instruments instead of string instruments.” - Cultural Attaché
“I’m pleased have this alternate take in my collection – an interesting and enchanting new perspective.” - The Whole Note
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Sinta Quartet, Sinta Quartet Plays Beethoven
Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella
Sinta Quartet, Beethoven String Quartet No. 15 "Heiliger Dankgesang”
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Eric Wojahn