The Recording Academy just accounted the nominees for this year’s GRAMMY® awards: included in the honorees for “Best Choral Performance” is GRAMMY®-winning professional choir Conspirare for their album “The Hope of Loving” — the first full-album dedicated to the music of composer Jake Runestad. This album has already garnered great acclaim:
“Runestad has wedded exquisite music to tender, spiritual and nature-orientated verses… The composer’s style is lyrical, replete with soaring phrases and rich harmonies coloured by suspensions and deft choral techniques.” (Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone Magazine).
“Eriks Esenvalds, Ola Gjeilo, and Eric Whitacre might have to slide down the bench a little to make room for a newcomer. Runestad’s music tends to be luminous, spiritually-charged, enmeshed with the texts that inspired it, and fully accessible to singers and audiences. There’s a reason why [his] songs are sung all over the place, and why an A-List choir like Conspirare has embraced him.” (Philip Greenfield, American Record Guide).
Conspirare’s artistic director Craig Hella Johnson reflected, “Wow, what a joy and tremendous honor to be nominated in this category with such a distinguished group of fellow nominees. I am very proud of all of the Conspirare artists for their beautiful performances and so grateful to Jake Runestad for his extraordinary music. We are excited about the opportunity to share this music with a broader audience around the world.”
Jake Runestad was present for the recording process in Austin, TX and was deeply involved in the album’s creation. On news of today’s nomination announcement, Jake said, “This is a dream-come-true! I’m so proud of Craig and the entire Conspirare family for bringing such depth and beauty to ‘The Hope of Loving.’ My heart is overflowing with joy.”
One of the youngest full-time composers in the world, Jake Runestad has received thousands of performances across six continents from ensembles and organizations such as Washington National Opera, the Dallas Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Choir, VOCES8, and in renowned halls including Carnegie Hal, the White House (for the Obamas), the Sistine Chapel (for the pope), Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, and the Sydney Opera House.
The 62nd Grammy® Awards ceremony will be held on January 26, 2020, hosted by Alicia Keys. Nominations were announced by the Recording Academy on November 20th. This is Conspirare’s ninth nomination, and the first nomination for an album of Runestad’s music.
Listen now on your preferred platform:
More info here on the Conspirare website.
Check out the video below where you can learn more about the works on the album and see some behind-the-scene footage of the recording process.
Conductor Craig Hella Johnson on “The Hope of Loving.”