KNEE DEEP IN AWARDS
Dear Friends,
A few weeks ago, the latest round of Grammy nominations were announced. Inside the list of musicians given the proverbial nod were folks with ties to Stratford Summer Music (again!!). First up, one of our favourite guest artists, Laila Biali has been nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her work Wintersongs. Several musicians that make appearances on the album have been with us at SSM in the past, including legendary saxophonist Jane Bunnett. Here's a nice clip with Laila speaking about the nomination:
Having listened to the album, I'd say she and her writers/producers/musicians are making traditional pop sound classy!
Another nomination with deep connections to us at SSM is inside the Immersive Audio category. Immersed is the creation of Justin Gray (who's been with us both as a performer and as a sound engineer in the past) and features many musicians that have been on our stages since I've been around, including Drew Jurecka (also up for producer of the year). The album puts listeners’ ears inside the ensemble itself (!) and is truly groundbreaking. On top of all that, Stratfordian and great friend of SSM Michael Fisher created a film to go with the album. Here's an article that describes the project in greater detail.
I'd like to bring this film to our audiences at SSM at some point in the future....stay tuned!
Being nominated for these types of awards is a significant achievement, because to get this far, a lot of people have taken the time to listen to your work with intention. If it stands up to the test, you're pushed forward by your peers. Considering how much "noise" is out there vying for our collective attentions, these folks deserve the praise.
At one point I thought I would add a list of all the people that have been with us over the years that have either been nominated or won such awards. But as I started to look into it, I saw that I'd need a personal assistant to go through the last 25 years and dig out all those stories because we regularly have the world's best on our stages.
Speaking of the world's best, The Ennis Sisters are with us on December 4th. Do you have your tickets yet? Here's a link:
The Ennis Sisters
Thursday, December 4
7PM | The Avondale
Have a great weekend!
Mark and the SSM Team