Recording of L'Orestie d'Eschyle Receives Grammy Nomination

 12/05/2014

The Naxos recording of Darius Milhaud's L'Orestie d'Eschyle (Oresteia of Aeschylus), which was recorded in April 2013 at Hill Auditorium and released in September 2014, has been nominated for a GRAMMY® Award in the category of Best Opera Recording. 

The epic work is performed by the University Symphony Orchestra of the University of Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD); a 320-voice choir comprising the UMS Choral Union and SMTD's Chamber Choir and Orpheus Singers; the SMTD Percussion Ensemble (under the direction of Joseph Gramley and Jonathan Ovalle, SMTD professors of percussion); and a cast of nine professional vocal soloists. The performance is conducted by Kenneth Kiesler, U-M's director of university orchestras and music director of the University Symphony Orchestra; the choirs were directed by Jerry Blackstone, U-M's director of university choirs and music director of the UMS Choral Union, and Eugene Rogers, associate director of choirs and conductor of the University Choir. The recording engineer was Jason Corey, associate professor and chair of SMTD's Department of Performing Arts Technology.

The last time UMS and SMTD collaborated on a recording was in 2004 with William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, which went on to win four GRAMMY® Awards in 2006 (Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, Best Classical Album and Producer of the Year).

The 57th Annual GRAMMY® Awards will air live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 8, 2015, broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The complete list of nominees is available here.

Complete information about the L'Orestie d'Eschyle recording is available in the press release, issued in September.