乐播传媒

鈥淲hen you win the award, the statue they hand you isn鈥檛 actually yours. You give your speech, you take your picture, and then they take it away for a while.鈥�

Bass (MM, PC 鈥�13) watches the Grammy Awards on television practically every year. He never dreamed that one day he might win his own golden gramophone. 鈥淲e were never really expecting it. A nomination is already quite an honor.鈥�

Record producer (BM 鈥�82) agrees. 鈥淢y first shock was when we got nominated. Getting to the final five of any category is a big deal in the music world.鈥�

In February, Wu and Brenner both won their first Grammy Awards, Wu and the cast of "The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs" for Best Opera Recording, and Brenner and baroque ensemble Apollo鈥檚 Fire and soloist Karim Sulayman for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Brenner (left, with Apollo's Fire director Jeannette Sorrell), who has been editing and producing classical music albums for nearly 30 years, says she never anticipated being part of the glitz and glamour of music鈥檚 big night.

鈥淚 knew that the albums I was creating were good enough to be in contention, but you don鈥檛 expect it,鈥� she explains. 鈥淜arim鈥檚 concept and singing on the album was as soulful as it gets, and Apollo鈥檚 Fire is special. The conductor, Jeannette Sorrell, wants to present baroque music in a way that stirs emotions, the way it was presented during Bach and Telemann鈥檚 time. And that鈥檚 what they do.鈥�

""鈥攖he opera about the Apple founder written by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell (a CU Boulder Department of Theatre & Dance alumnus)鈥攂eat out five heavy-hitting contenders. Up against works by such opera giants as Verdi and Strauss, Wu says that no one saw the win coming. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rare to even see a world-premiere opera nominated in this category. Then when you consider the music鈥攚hich itself was like a revolution, using electronics and a DJ in the pit鈥攊t was a very unconventional winner.鈥�

Wu played Jobs鈥� spiritual advisor K么bun Chino Otogawa in the opera鈥檚 world premiere in Santa Fe in 2017. He and most of the original cast will reprise their roles next year in Jobs鈥� old Silicon Valley stomping grounds, as San Francisco Opera stages the work. Until then, Wu says he鈥檒l reflect on this accomplishment, focusing on gratitude. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad I can make my parents and everyone at CU鈥攅specially [generous College of Music supporters] the Sie family鈥攑roud. I鈥檓 here because of the people who have supported me generously and unconditionally, and the only way I can repay them is by working hard.鈥�

Brenner, who started off as a performing flutist, agrees. 鈥淚 feel so grateful that I was able to make a career in music, even if it wasn鈥檛 the exact path that I envisioned while I was a student at CU.

鈥淚鈥檓 not a different producer today than I was before the Grammy. I still take on every project to craft something unique and beautiful. But I won鈥檛 lie鈥� the acknowledgement feels really great.鈥�

Brenner and Wu weren鈥檛 the only CU Boulder names to grace the this year: Alumna (MM 鈥�00) was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for her record "Diamond Cut," and College of Music Director of Bands was nominated as a producer in the Best Classical Compendium category for the album "John Williams at the Movies with Dallas Winds."