Look at all the Kansas Citians who are up for Grammy Awards Sunday night
Jon Batiste and Doja Cat may lead the nominations for Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, but Kansas Citians have their own set of contenders to root for as well.
Several musicians who live and work in Kansas City — or grew up here — were nominated for the music industry’s highest honor.
Some of the local nominees are our usual suspects, showered with several previous nominations and statuettes. We’ll get to them in a bit. But first:
Sandbox Percussion, a quartet of faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, is up for two awards for the composition “Seven Pillars”: best chamber music/small ensemble performance AND best contemporary classical composition. Its members are Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum and Terry Sweeney. Andy Akiho is the composer.
“We paused our meeting for a second as they announced our categories — and then we completely lost it,” UMKC quotes Rosenbaum saying. “We knew how proud we were of this album and this work, but we never imagined that it could get recognized in this way.”
In addition, the duo 123 Andres (say it “Uno, Dos, Tres Andres”), composed of Andrés Salguero, a UMKC alum, and his wife, Christina Sanabria, was nominated for best children’s music album for “Activate.”
As for the Grammy regulars:
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who grew up in Prairie Village, is up for best classical solo vocal album for “Schubert: Winterreise.” (DiDonato has a concert at the Folly Theater on April 12.)
Jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny of Lee’s Summit is up for best jazz instrumental album for “Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV).”
The Kansas City Symphony’s album “One Movement Symphonies — Barber, Sibelius, Scriabin” is part of David Frost’s list of albums that earned him a nomination for producer of the year, classical.
Steven Epstein is also competing in that producer of the year category, with albums including “Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 17, Arr. for Piano, String Quartet and Double Bass,” which features Alon Goldstein, a UMKC professor and pianist.
In overall Grammy nominations, Jon Batiste led with 11, while Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. each scored eight. Billie Eilish and first-time nominee Olivia Rodrigo, who was in the mix for best new artist, each scored seven nominations.
Where to watch the Grammys
The Grammy Awards will air 7-10:30 p.m. Sunday, April 3, on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
Awards that aren’t part of the regular telecast will be presented starting at 2:30 p.m., streamed live on Grammy.com and the Grammys’ YouTube channel.
