Grammy nominations don't just come along on your average day. They don't come along to your average person, either.
For Ball State students Ryan Muncy and Eddie Rich and music professor George Wolfe, the past couple of weeks have been anything but ordinary. An album they contributed to made the first round of Grammy nominations in the Best Classical Album category. Although they recently found out the album did not make the final round, the accomplishment has been the first for any member of the Ball State music program.
According to Wolfe, who has been at Ball State for 20 years, the final round of nominations is narrowed down to five albums which are usually made by famous performers.
"To be nominated for the first round is an honor itself," he said.
It started for the saxophone quartet when they recorded 30 minutes of music at the engineering technology lab two years ago. The group's motive was to enter the recording into the Fishchoff National Chamber Music Competition.
Wolfe later sent the recording and one of his own to Arizona University Recordings to be considered for a compilation album as a tribute to Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone. The album is in a seven volume series, titled "America's Millenium Tribute to Adolphe Sax." The recordings were selected for volume 5.
The quartet's piece "Back Burner" by Frank Ticheli was selected, along with a recording Wolfe made with renowned tuba player Harvey Phillips several years ago.
"I think one reason why it attracted the attention of the panel was because of Harvey Phillips."
For the quartet, which also included former students Adrien Re and Josh Weirich, earning the first round nomination was an honor, but humbling at the same time.
"I didn't take it for granted," Muncy said. "When I first found out and I saw our name on the list, I knew it wasn't final. I didn't know how it worked."
Once he found out how it worked, Muncy realized making the second round would be rare because of the extreme competition the album was up against.
However, it didn't take away the exhilaration he felt when he first saw Wolfe running towards him in the hallway with the letter. Rich was able to experience the excitement first-hand when Wolfe opened the letter during his lesson. Wolfe hopes to give students more opportunities to make professional recordings in the new technology lab when the new music building opens. "I like to give my students the opportunity to work in the studio because that's what they'll do when they get out in the field as performers. This really puts us on the map. It boosts the program and highlights how the program is here," Wolfe said.
For Muncy and Rich, who are both music performance majors, this has been a career highlight, but it doesn't stop there.
"It's definitely a big deal, to be 21 and be on part of this is a great honor," Muncy said.
"I would definitely love to be able to hold this (honor) again sometime in my life," Rich said. "I don't know how likely that is, but I definitely plan on making a career of it."
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