Conspirare nominated for two Grammy Awards

The choral ensemble Conspirare under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson has been nominated for two Grammy awards, one for “Best Engineered Album” (up against the likes of recording labels Deutsche Grammophon and Telarc), the other for “Best Choral Performance”. The title of the CD is “Requiem”, recorded last October.

Stella Hastings has been a member of Conspirare (Latin for "to breathe together") for a number of years. The group recorded the album “through the green fuse” in August, 2004 at George Lucas' Skywalker Sound in California.

Conspirare was also the recipient of the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, given by Chorus America at their convention in June 2005. Past winners of this prestigious award include Chanticleer, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the Dale Warland Singers.

Mrs. Hastings sister, Nina Revering, who performed with the SEK Symphony Orchestra in March 2004, is the director of Conspirare’s children’s choir.

For more information about Conspirare, go to: http://www.conspirare.org/

... or read an article by Aprill Brandon of the Victoria Advocate "And the Grammy Goes To..."

Detailed information from the Grammy website:

49^th Annual Grammy Awards Nominee List

For recordings released during the Eligibility Year

October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006
Note: More or less than 5 nominations in a category is the result of ties.

Field 29 — Production, Classical

Category 94

Best Engineered Album, Classical
(An Engineer's Award. (Artist names appear in parenthesis.))

• Elgar: Enigma Variations; Britten: The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra, Four Sea Interludes
  Michael Bishop, engineer (Paavo Järvi & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
  [Telarc]
• Látigo
  Leslie Ann Jones, engineer (Quartet San Francisco)
  [Violinjazz Recordings]
• Mahler: Symphony No. 2
  Wolf-Dieter Karwatky & Rainer Maillard, engineers (Pierre Boulez, Wiener Philharmoniker, Christine Schäfer, Michelle DeYoung & Wiener Singverein)
  [Deutsche Grammophon]

[] Requiem
John Newton, engineer (Craig Hella Johnson & Conspirare)
[Clarion Records]

• Vaughan Williams: Mass In G Min., And Other A Cappella Works
  Jack Renner, engineer (Norman Mackenzie & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus)
  [Telarc]

Field 30 — Classical

Category 99

Best Choral Performance
(Award to the Choral Conductor, and to the Orchestra Conductor if an Orchestra is on the recording, and to the Choral Director or Chorus Master if applicable.)

• Immortal Nystedt
  Øystein Fevang, conductor (Bærum Vokalensemble & Ensemble 96)
  [2L]
• Mozart: Great Mass In C Min.
  Paul McCreesh, conductor (Sarah Connolly, Neal Davies, Timothy Robinson & Camilla Tilling; Gabrieli Consort; Gabrieli Consort & Players)
  [Deutsche Grammophon]
• Pärt: Da Pacem
  Paul Hillier, conductor (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir)
  [Harmonia Mundi]

[] Requiem
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Conspirare)
[Clarion Records]

• Whitacre: Cloudburst And Other Choral Works
  Stephen Layton, conductor (Thomas Guthrie, Elin Manahan Thomas & Simon Wall; Polyphony)
  [Hyperion]