For a number of years I participated in the Grammy’s Classical Music Selection Committee. Don’t get excited, it’s pretty dry stuff. A group of classical folk gather in a hotel suite and decide which entries go in which category for consideration. Is a pop singer appearing in a recording of an opera eligible for winning in the crossover category as well as opera? If twelve players perform a piece but one of them doubles on a second clarinet, does that take it out of the “twelve or less” small ensemble category? Those aren’t the real categories or decisions, but it should give you an idea of what the process is like. In other words: How many angels can fit on the head of a pin?
A couple of times over the years I’ve also been asked to host the annual Grammy Salute to Classical Music. The event’s attendees, held here in Southern California, is a Who’s Who of classical music from this region and around the country. The last time I hosted the affair the honoree was flutist Sir James Galway. That year I also got to hand out the classical Grammy’s at the “Pre Tel” event held a few hours before the televised big show. The Pre Tel is where the vast majority of awards are presented, it’s just that the categories aren’t as sexy as Best Pop Single (Polka record of the year, anyone?). I even got to attend the Grammy’s themselves that year, which was outrageously cool. And - just because I like to think of myself as the hardest working man in show business - that same afternoon I recorded a slew of announcements that ran in the Staples Center when the network would cutaway for commercials (“And the winner of best Best Polka Album of the Year was…”). I blogged about it (way back then in the mid ‘00s we called it “wrote about it,” but that’s another story).
This year the Grammy folks are paying tribute to tenor Placido Domingo. Once again I’ve been tapped to be the host. The invitation-only concert/awards ceremony takes place next week at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. I will give you an update on the program once it’s happened. To say that I look forward to hanging out backstage with Domingo would be something of an understatement.
~ Rich Capparela
Giving Out Grammy - 2/8/04
(Reprinted with the kind permission of LARADIO.COM)
For a couple of years Rich Capparela has been helping out as a member of the Grammy Classical selection committee. “That means sitting in a hotel meeting room for a couple of days going through hundreds of submissions to decide if a recording is best categorized as say, chamber music or small ensemble. Male vocal or crossover? That sort of thing,” revealed Rich.
This year Rich was asked to emcee the 8th annual Classical luncheon at the Biltmore. “The Grammys honored flutist Sir James Galway. After I’d agreed to do that, I got a call asking if I would be interested in just a little bit more. It wound up being a highlight in a 32-year career as a dj. Here’s what ‘a little bit more’ involved:
* Pre-recording the 100+ ‘…and the nominees are…’ announcements for the pre-telecast. The pre-tel has traditionally been something of an orphan at the Grammys, even though more than 90 of the 100+ awards are given out at it. This year they did it up right. The pre-tel took place earlier in the afternoon at the Convention Center. It featured a live band, a host, eight presenters, graphics, music performance and a stage. In other words, it was a fully produced 2 1/2 hour pre-Grammy show with nominees in attendance. A very cool event.
* I got to be one of the eight presenters actually opening the envelopes and getting to say ‘…and the Grammy goes to…’ Evidently they’ve had some problems in the past with those obscure Classical pronunciations, so having a Classical dj do it worked well for them. For me, it was a chance to stand in front of an audience ranging from Weird Al Yankovic and Ricky Skaggs to The Blind Boys of Alabama and Foo Fighters and hand out a dozen classical Grammys. What a buzz! And what a challenge to reach across to an audience that I knew, for the most part, didn’t care all that passionately about who got the best Chamber Music Performance Grammy. A little self-deprecating humor goes a long way in a room like that. To stand in front of that much diverse talent for such a joyous purpose. . . .
* Immediately following the Pre-Tel I was whisked up to a room at the Convention Center where I recorded eight or nine sets of recordings announcing all 90+ of the pre-tel winners. I finished about fifteen minutes after the Staples Center telecast began. Then, during the actual CBS telecast when the network went to commercial, screens in Staples Center came down and slides came on with stills of the winners accepting their awards. All the while there was my voice running underneath. It was the loudest I’ve ever heard my voice played back. I was okay with it.
The deal included a pair of tickets for the Grammy show itself. I brought my step-daughter Tehya as my guest. When I finally got to my seat to join her, it turned out to be in row eleven. Row eleven! Tarentino was about five rows ahead and Kenny Loggins was behind us (which, admittedly, says less about me than it does about Kenny Loggins’ career these days). Sarah Jessica Parker kept on walking past us, as did Justin Timberlake and Courtney Love. Amazing.
Rich concluded his Grammy experience with a lasting memory: “The host for the pre-tel was Steve Vai, one of the greatest living rock guitarists. He played on many Zappa albums and just about anywhere else a band needed the ultimate musician. As we were getting ready to start the show Steve asked if the scripted introduction of yours truly was okay or if I wanted to add anything. I told him there was one thing. And so he obliged me by introducing me as ‘The most awesome guitarist I’ve ever heard.’ That got a laugh.”
“I’ve gotten the impression that the Grammy folks might invite me to do this again. Let me think about it for a moment. Okay,” Rich conceded.