Grammy gold goes to Rice alums

Three Rice University Shepherd School of Music alumni are among the winners of this year’s Grammy Awards.

From left: Karim Sulayman, Sasha Cooke, Blanton Alspaugh.

Blanton Alspaugh, a record producer who earned a Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School in 1987, won the Grammy for Classical Producer of the Year for his work on various recordings in 2018. He also won the 2012 Grammy in the same category and the 2017 Grammy for Best Opera Recording.

Sasha Cooke, an opera singer who received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Shepherd School in 2004, was part of a group that received the Grammy for Best Opera Recording for “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” at the Santa Fe Opera. She previously won a Grammy in 2012 in the same category.

Karim Sulayman, an opera singer who received a Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School in 2001, was part of a group that received the Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for “Songs of Orpheus – Monteverdi, Caccini, D’India & Landi.”

The 61st annual awards show was held Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. For a complete list of this year’s Grammy winners, visit https://bit.ly/2SnSTFG.

For more information on the Shepherd School, visit http://music.rice.edu/.