NYU Steinhardt music business alumni Ian Axel (B.Mus., ’07) and Chad Vaccarino (B.Mus., ’07), the duo who comprise A Great Big World, took home Grammy awards last night in the category of Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Say Something” with Christina Aguilera.
Axel and Vaccarino, who met as NYU undergraduates, beat out Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars,” “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry and “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj.
Alex and Vaccarino received their awards at a ceremony held in Los Angeles’s Staples Center, hosted by Rapper LL Cool J. Other nominees from the NYU Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions included music technology alumna Emily Lazar (M.Mus., ’96), who was nominated for her work as mastering engineer on Sia’s “Chandelier,” which was in contention for Record of the Year. Other nominees in category included Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor, and the ultimate winner, Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me.”
NYU Steinhardt’s Joe Lovano, faculty member in the Jazz Studies Program, received two Grammy nominations – the first in the category of Best Improvised Jazz Solo for “Recorda Me” from the album The Latin Size of Joe Henderson, which also earned he and Conrad Herwig a nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. Lovano previously won a Grammy in 2000 for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for 52nd Street Themes.
About NYU Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions:
Established in 1924, Steinhardt’s Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions (MPAP) is a leading research and practice center in music technology, music business, music composition, film scoring, songwriting, music performance practices, performing arts therapies, and the performing arts-in-education (music, dance, and drama). Prominent alumni include: jazz great Wayne Shorter, music theatre composer and songwriter Cy Coleman, lyricist Betty Comden, composer Elmer Bernstein, and playwright and film writer John Patrick Shanley. Visit here for more information.
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