There are no trophies to bring home this year to polish, but the work of Middle Tennessee State University graduates still shone at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, announced April 3 in Las Vegas.
Nine MTSU alumni were nominated in genres ranging from pop to roots gospel to traditional blues to Latin music for their work on projects released between September 2020 and September 2021.
MTSU nominees and their categories this year included:
Maria Elisa Ayerbe
• 2015 Master of Fine Arts in Recording Arts and Technologies Program alumna Maria Elisa Ayerbe, fresh off a 2021 Latin Grammys quadruple nomination for her producing, engineering and songwriting on fellow Colombian Paula Arenas’ “Mis Amores” album.
Tony Castle
Ayerbe was included in this year’s best Latin pop album Grammy category for engineering Arenas’ project.
• Multi-Grammy winner Tony Castle, a 1995 Department of Recording Industry graduate who’s won twice before for engineering icon Willie Nelson’s projects. He was back among the best traditional pop vocal album nominees this time with “That’s Life,” Nelson’s second tribute collection of Frank Sinatra’s music.
Billy Hickey
Castle also was a nominee for the top traditional blues album for engineering Blues Traveler’s latest release, “Traveler’s Blues.”
• Billy Hickey, a 2006 recording industry production and technology alumnus who was nominated for three Grammys for his work on Ariana Grande’s 2019 release, “thank u, next.”
Hickey returned to the list of best pop vocal album Grammy nominees this year for his work on Grande’s “Positions.”
F. Reid Shippen
• 1994 recording industry graduate F. Reid Shippen, who brought home his fifth career Grammy for engineering Gloria Gaynor’s 2019 best roots gospel album.
The current and now two-time Academy of Country Music Audio Engineer of the Year was back among the Grammy nominees this time with country standout Mickey Guyton, whose 2021 release, “Remember Her Name,” was nominated for best country album.
• Last year’s best country album Grammy winners for their work on Miranda Lambert’s “Wildcard,” 2000 recording industry alumnus Jason A. Hall and 2014 audio production grad Jimmy Mansfield.
Jason A. Hall
Jimmy Mansfield
They were nominated in the same category again in the 64th annual Grammys for engineering the Brothers Osborne’s “Skeletons.”
• 2000 School of Music alumnus Wayne Haun, a producer/songwriter, multi-award winner and repeat Grammy nominee who often has multiple projects competing in the same award categories.
He was included in this year’s best roots gospel album category with his longtime collaborators Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and their newest album, “Keeping On.”
Wayne Haun
• And 2003 graduates Ceylon Wise and Ashley Brooks Wise, who created an educational YouTube channel with their young sons and were part of the best children’s music album-nominated compilation, “All One Tribe.”
The project features 24 family music artists, known collectively as “1 Tribe Collective,” who aim to educate, encourage and inspire Black children.
Ashley Brooks Wise and Ceylon Wise
More details about the nominees and the MTSU programs that trained them are available in the original nomination story below.
Stories about MTSU students’ participation at this year’s Grammys and events honoring the MTSU nominees during Grammy Weekend are available here and here, respectively.
— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)
At least 9 MTSU grads await news of Grammy gold in rescheduled April 3 Vegas awards
Jan. 19, 2022
At least nine Middle Tennessee State University alumni will be heading back to the 64th annual Grammy Awards, in categories ranging to country to pop to Latin music to bluegrass to gospel, when the rescheduled, relocated ceremony takes place Sunday, April 3, in Las Vegas.
The Recording Academy announced its 2020-21 nominations in November. On Jan. 5, the organization announced that its originally planned Jan. 31 ceremony in Los Angeles had been postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic.
On Jan. 19, the Recording Academy announced the new April 3 date and new MGM Grand Garden Arena site for the event. The 2022 ceremony will air live from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Central on the CBS network and will stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
The 2021 ceremony, celebrating the 63rd annual Grammys, also was delayed because of the pandemic, ultimately airing almost two months late.
At the 64th annual Grammys, MTSU’s nominees for music released between Sept. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, will include:
Maria Elisa Ayerbe
• 2015 Master of Fine Arts in Recording Arts and Technologies Program alumna Maria Elisa Ayerbe, fresh off a 2021 Latin Grammys quadruple nomination for her producing, engineering and songwriting on fellow Colombian Paula Arenas’ “Mis Amores” album.
Ayerbe is included in this year’s best Latin pop album Grammy category for engineering Arenas’ project.
Tony Castle
• Multi-Grammy winner Tony Castle, a 1995 Department of Recording Industry graduate who’s ridden into the winner’s circle twice before for engineering icon Willie Nelson’s projects. He’s back among the best traditional pop vocal album nominees this time with “That’s Life,” Nelson’s second tribute collection of Frank Sinatra’s music.
Castle’s also a nominee for the top traditional blues album for engineering Blues Traveler’s latest release, “Traveler’s Blues.”
Billy Hickey
• Billy Hickey, a 2006 recording industry production and technology alumnus who was nominated for three Grammys for his work on Ariana Grande’s 2019 release, “thank u, next.” He returns to the list of best pop vocal album Grammy nominees this year for his work on Grande’s “Positions.”
• 1994 recording industry graduate F. Reid Shippen, who brought home his fifth career Grammy for engineering Gloria Gaynor’s 2019 best roots gospel album.
F. Reid Shippen
The current and now two-time Academy of Country Music Audio Engineer of the Year will return to the Grammy nominees’ circle this time with country standout Mickey Guyton, whose 2021 release, “Remember Her Name,” is nominated for best country album.
• The current best country album Grammy winners for their work on Miranda Lambert’s “Wildcard,” 2000 recording industry alumnus Jason A. Hall and 2014 audio production grad Jimmy Mansfield.
They’re nominated in the same category again this year for engineering the Brothers Osborne’s “Skeletons.”
Jason A. Hall
Jimmy Mansfield
• 2000 School of Music alumnus Wayne Haun, a producer/songwriter, multi-award winner and repeat Grammy nominee who often has multiple projects competing in the same award categories.
He’s in this year’s best roots gospel album category again with his longtime collaborators Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and their newest album, “Keeping On.”
Wayne Haun
• And 2003 graduates Ceylon Wise and Ashley Brooks Wise, who created an educational YouTube channel with their young sons and are part of the best children’s music album-nominated compilation, “All One Tribe.” The project features 24 family music artists, known collectively as “1 Tribe Collective,” who aim to educate, encourage and inspire Black children.
Ashley Brooks Wise and Ceylon Wise
Ceylon Wise earned his degree in audio production, and Ashley Wise’s degree from the School of Music is in music performance. Their album song “For All” is a mini-American history lesson.
Ceylon Wise also is credited on the album’s first song, “One Tribe,” as a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist.
MTSU Audio Production Program grads and expert producers like Haun serve as the “ears” of a project, tasked with the hands-on duties of recording live music and audio to ensure everything and everyone sounds perfect.
Like Ashley Wise, Haun also is a performer and recording artist, though his MTSU degree is in instrumental music education.
The Department of Recording Industry at MTSU, part of the university’s College of Media and Entertainment, also guides song creators and performers in its Commercial Songwriting Program and music entrepreneurs, including managers and publishers, in its Music Business Program.
NBC News in 2019 began calling MTSU a “Grammy-winner factory” in the wake of its alumni, students’ and staffers’ multiple nominations and wins.
MTSU alumni, former or current students, and faculty from across the university have been a part of more than 125 Grammy Award nominations in the last two decades.
After the 2021 ceremony last March, the number of MTSU-connected Grammy winners since 2001 has risen to 15 with a total of 37 Grammys, including nine repeat recipients, in categories from classical to pop to rock to country to gospel.
The Department of Recording Industry opened its newly revamped and relocated Studios D and E this semester to expand the opportunities for MTSU students to learn their craft in nearly 5,000 square feet of customized, expandable, “world-class” space, complete with control rooms, equipment rooms and an open gathering/reception area.
The nearly $2 million facilities, located at 1408 E. Main alongside MTSU’s primary entrance with its striking obelisk, have been dubbed “Main Street Studios.” A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in December.
The department’s new Commercial Songwriting Center, located five blocks east of campus in the Miller Education Center at 508 E. Bell St., is set to open next year.
For more information about the Department of Recording Industry at MTSU, visit https://mtsu.edu/recording-industry. For more on the School of Music in the College of Liberal Arts, visit https://mtsu.edu/music.
More details about the 64th annual Grammy Awards are available at https://Grammy.com.
— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)
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