New School Alumni 2021 Grammy Award Honorees

We were thrilled to cheer on New School alumni who were honored among the best and brightest artists at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards show, which aired on March 14, 2021. Music’s biggest night honored alumni for their groundbreaking, innovative music, a testament to the bold talent of our community and to the power of music during a challenging year that made art more important than ever.

Congratulations to all the New School alumni winners and nominees.

Winners

Best Musical Theater Album

Jagged Little Pill
Lauren Patten, BA Creative Writing ’18, principal soloist

Best R&B Song

Better Than I Imagined
Robert Glasper, BFA Performance ’01, songwriter

Best Choral Performance

Danielpour: The Passion of Yeshuah
JoAnn Falletta, BM Performance ’76, conductor

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

Smyth: The Prison
James Blachly, MM Music ’06, conductor

Nominees

Best Traditional R&B Performance

“Sit on Down”
The Baylor Project Featuring Jean Baylor and Marcus Baylor, BFA Jazz & Contemporary Music ’99

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

Americana
Grégoire Maret, BFA Jazz and Contemporary Music ’98

Best Progressive R&B Album

F*** Your Feelings
Robert Grasper, BFA Performance ’01

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

Slow Burn
Talia Billig, BFA Jazz and Contemporary Music ’11 & BA Psychology ‘11
Becca Stevens, BFA Jazz and Contemporary Music ‘07

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

RoundAgain
Brad Mehldau, BFA Jazz and Contemporary Music ’93

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Ona
Thana Alexa, BFA Jazz and Contemporary Music ’10 & BA Psychology ‘10

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

“Pachamama” (track from: Ona by Thana Alexa, BFA Jazz and Contemporary Music ’10 & BA Psychology ’10)

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Blue Umbrella
Burt Bacharach, UDPL Music ’50

Read more about the nominees here.