Thursday, Feb 9, 2023
Several Westminster Choir College alumni featured on the award-winning recording
by Tatiana Sciancalepore
The Crossing, a professional chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally ’87, won the Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for Born: Music of Edie Hill and Michael Gilbertson at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony on Feb. 5.
“We don't make records to try to win awards,” says Nally. “But it sure is nice to know that many more people will hear these fantastic new works and the artistry of our singers whose nearly unimaginable artistic feats capture the ethos of our community and tell the stories of our time.”
The recording features several Westminster Choir College alumni including Katy Avery ’18, Steven Hyder ’12, Lauren Kelly ’16, Rebecca Myers ’02 and Daniel Spratlan ’05. This is the group’s third award and eighth nomination since its founding in 2007.
We don't make records to try to win awards, but it sure is nice to know that many more people will hear these fantastic new works and the artistry of our singers."
"We are extraordinarily proud of Donald and The Crossing, which includes many Westminster alumni,” says Jason Vodicka ’03, ’09 associate dean of Rider's College of Arts and Sciences and associate professor of music education at Westminster Choir College. “It's achievements like this that confirm the importance of Westminster as a hub for choral study."
Nally, who earned a master’s degree in choral conducting and an honorary Doctor of Music from Westminster Choir College, has been recognized as one of the leading commissioners of new music in the United States. In addition to his work with The Crossing, Nally is an artist in residence at Westminster Choir College, teaching graduate level conducting classes and seminars, and working with the Westminster Choir.
“The Crossing has Westminster in its DNA through its many members who studied there and through my long association with the school,” says Nally.
For nearly a century, Westminster Choir College has been recognized as one of the world's leading schools of music. The school's rich legacy of musical excellence includes hundreds of performances and recordings with the principal orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston and Atlanta. Westminster prepares students for thriving careers as well-rounded performers and musical leaders in schools, universities, churches and arts organizations around the world.