Professor and alumni win Grammy

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The Crossing, a professional chamber choir conducted by Dr. Donald Nally ’87, director of choral studies, earned its fourth Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for Ochre. 

A number of alumni are members of the group, including Kelly Bixby ’10, Ryan Fleming ’93, Steven Hyder ’12, Lauren Kelly ’16, Rebecca Myers ’02, Daniel O'Dea ’06, Daniel Spratlan ’05 and Jackson Williams ’10. 

“We don't do what we do to win awards, and we don't seek them. But, it's pretty fun when the planets align and we're recognized in a way that inspires more people to hear our composers' music, our singing and our community,” says Nally, who joined the full-time faculty this fall as conductor of the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir and head of the graduate conducting program. “Grammys have certainly been good for our artists and our storytelling.”

In its review of the winning album, Ochre, Gramophone writes, “Each of the pieces embraces a distinctive vision of the world, with subjects ranging from justice, freedom and existence to compounds that make up the geological and human world.”

Since its founding in 2007, The Crossing has earned 10 Grammy nominations and issued 36 albums. The ensemble is dedicated to exploring and expanding the ways choral music is written, listened to and performed.