Eight alumni, students and faculty from the University of North Texas have earned nominations or collaborated on projects nominated in the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
UNT faculty, students and alumni were recognized across five categories in the nominations announced Nov. 8, including Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, Best Jazz Performance, Best Music Film, and Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.
"We are elated to have members of the College of Music family nominated for Grammy Awards in 2025," UNT College of Music Dean John W. Richmond said. "This year's list of nominees is particularly inspiring to me, in that it includes current faculty members, current students and lauded alumni in the mix. It's just outstanding! The Grammys are among the most recognized affirmations of musical achievement. Accolades across such a broad cross-section of our College of Music family seem to me like the perfect reflection of our mission: '… to serve our diverse musical culture with excellence, integrity and imagination.'"
Alumna and nine-time Grammy winner Norah Jones, who attended UNT in the 1990s, received her 20th nomination – this one in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category for "Visions." Jones was the 2016 recipient of the University of North Texas Presidential Medal of Honor, the highest university honor given.
Alumnus Michael League, a five-time Grammy winner and eight-time nominee who attended UNT in the early 2000s, has been nominated in the Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for his arrangement of "Baby Elephant Walk – Encore," by Henry Mancini and Snarky Puppy. The band has Denton roots and was a fixture on the local live-music scene in its early years.
Four UNT doctoral students who comprise Lotus Saxophone Quartet -- Rico Allen, Mikayla Peterson ('22 M.M.) , Trek Boyland and Ben Facundo -- perform on "Impossible Dream" by Aaron Lazar, which was nominated in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Actor and singer Lazar, who is battling Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, released that album that also features performances by Sting, Kristin Chenoweth, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Josh Groban.
Scott Tixier, associate professor of jazz violin, appears as soloist in "American Symphony," a Netflix documentary by musician Jon Batiste, which received a nomination in the Best Music Film category. Tixier, a five-time affiliated Grammy Award-nominated jazz violinist, has previously worked on motion picture scores including "The Lion King," "John Wick" and "Charlie's Angels."
The Dan Pugach Big Band -- which is on the Outside in Music record label of UNT associate professor of jazz trombone Nick Finzer -- received a pair of Grammy nominations for "Bianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence" in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category, and "Little Fears: Dan Pugach Big Band featuring Nicole Zuraitis and Troy Roberts" in the Best Jazz Performance category. Finzer, an award-winning composer, arranger, producer and trombonist, is chief executive officer of the Outside in Music label.
Winners will be named in the 67th Grammy Awards ceremony airing Feb. 2 on CBS.
About the College of Music
The University of North Texas College of Music is the largest public university music program in the United States and one of the most globally respected. Faculty and staff include internationally acclaimed artists and scholars in composition, conducting, ethnomusicology, jazz studies, music education, music business, music history, music theory, commercial music and performance. The college presents nearly 1,000 music events annually. Students perform in more than 70 ensembles in eight campus venues and can be viewed worldwide via free superior quality live streaming. UNT music alumni can be found around the world in impressive, award-winning careers across a wide range of music professions. Our current faculty members include Guggenheim Fellows, Fulbright Fellows, an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, a Charles Ives Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist, Emmy, Grammy, Latin Grammy, Oscar and Tony nominees and Grammy and Latin Grammy Award winners. Our students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and more than 40 countries.
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