A Grammy-nominated pianist and WVU College of Creative Arts and Media faculty member is available to discuss all that goes on behind the scenes during music’s biggest night. (WVU Photo/Brian Persinger)
A West Virginia University faculty member and Grammy-nominated pianist says the biggest surprise about music’s biggest night, set for Sunday (Feb. 1), is how much of the celebration happens off-camera.
Lucy Mauro, an associate professor of piano in the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media School of Music, says the Grammy Awards most viewers associate with the televised show are only part of the story.
Mauro is available to discuss what makes the music awards show tick, how membership in the Recording Academy works, and the ins and outs of a voting process designed to keep ballots in the hands of people working in the field.
Quotes:
“Most people don’t realize there are many more categories for the Grammy Awards than what is featured on the television broadcast and that there are actually two ceremonies — the Premiere Ceremony which is earlier in the day on Sunday (Feb. 1) and where the vast majority of the categories — 95 total this year — are presented, and then the telecast, which everyone watches, and which features the most popular categories.
“The first ceremony is quite long, lasting most of the afternoon to early evening and also has a celebrity host and presenters and performances. When that finishes, then the evening ceremony happens which is televised and has a different feel to it, as it’s live TV, and in a different venue. Both ceremonies are formal and have packed audiences with palpable nerves and excitement.
“It’s interesting how the voting is done. The Recording Academy has different types of membership, but to be accepted as a voting member for the Grammys, you have to be active as a performer, songwriter, producer or engineer with commercial recordings, reviews, recommendations and other such recognitions in the music profession.
“There are about 15,000 voting members this year which is quite a bit more than in previous years. The voting takes place in two rounds, and each member may vote in up to 16 of the 95 categories. All voting members may cast their ballots in the six top general categories such as Song of the Year, Album of the Year, etc., and then up to 10 other categories, but only in a maximum of three fields. This is done so the members vote in the areas in which they’re most experienced.
“Plus, when you think that some 20,000 recordings are submitted for consideration — they’re screened for eligibility and category placement and must have been commercially released during a specific time frame over the past year — and then there can be hundreds of nominees in each category for the first round, it would be impossible to vote knowledgeably in all 95 categories.
“The first round of voting determines the Grammy nominees, which for almost all of the categories is just five finalists. The nominees are publicly announced in early November and then the second round of voting begins, with the same requirements for the voting members as in the first round. The voting used to be done by mail-in ballots which were sent to the members but now is done securely online. The winners are then announced at the ceremonies, this year on Feb. 1.” — Lucy Mauro, associate professor, piano, School of Music, WVU College of Creative Arts and Media
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