The late composer Stephen Paulus was behind two Grammy wins on Monday, including one tied to Tucson's True Concord Voices and Orchestra.
Paulus's 2011 True Concord commission "Prayers and Remembrances" won best contemporary classical composition and his music was the core of the Nashville Symphony's "Three Places Of Enlightenment; Veil Of Tears & Grand Concerto," which won the Grammy for best classical compendium.
True Concord had been nominated for best choral performance for "Far In the Heavens: Choral Music of Stephen Paulus," which included "Prayers." They lost out to Phoenix Chorale's Rachmaninoff's "All-Night Vigil," a collaboration with Kansas City Chorale. Several True Concord choristers were part of that recording.
In his acceptance speech, Phoenix Chorale's Conductor Charles Bruffy gave a shoutout to True Concord and "Far In the Heavens."
Paulus's widow, Patty, thanked Dorothy Dyer Vanek, a major True Concord contributor, for sponsoring the "Prayers" commission and subsidizing the recording.ย
"Without her help with the commission and the recording, this piece would never have happened," Paulus said, her sons Andrew and Greg at her side.
The classical music Grammys were among the bulk of awards presented in early ceremonies held Monday at Microsoft Theater, across the street from the Staples Center where the Grammys were broadcast Monday night. The earlier awards were streamed on the Grammy website, but were not broadcast.
In between ceremonies, Holtan and his wife, Eloisa, mingled with a who's who of Hollywood and music including posing for photos with Carrie Underwood, Johnny Depp and Selena Gomez.
