Berklee Valencia Alumni Recognized at the Grammy Awards
Carla Patullo, Scorchio Quartet, and Tonality at the Grammy Awards
Image courtesy of Carla Patullo
Berklee Valencia alumni and faculty were represented at the 66th Grammy Awards, which took place on Sunday, February 4, in Los Angeles.
Award-winning film and TV composer Carla Patullo B.M. ’01, M.M. ’13, a graduate of Berklee Valencia’s scoring for film, television, and video games program, was recognized with a Grammy Award in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category for So She Howls, an ambient album that chronicled her three-year battle with cancer. Inspired by her grandmother’s singing tapes, the album reflected her journey of rediscovering her voice through healing.
Featuring contributions from the Scorchio Quartet and the vocal ensemble Tonality, which includes Berklee Valencia alumna soprano Gracie Laboy M.M. ’18 and violinist Lili Haydn, So She Howls weaves synth textures with voice and warm string arrangements. Patullo is the first LGBTQ+ artist to win a Grammy in this category.
“I began writing the album during a very difficult period of my life when I was going through breast cancer,” said Patullo. "Luckily for me, I’m okay and made it out on the other side. But that’s all because of a courageous group of women who, 30 years ago, took an experimental drug that ended up saving my life. I’d like to dedicate this award to them and to the doctors like Joyce O’Shaughnessy and Sara Hurvitz who have made the phrase 'cure cancer' not just a possibility, but a reality.”
Berklee Valencia alumnus MT Aditya Srinivasan M.M. ’14 also earned recognition for his contributions as a recording and premix engineer on Shakti’s This Moment, which won Best Global Music Album.
In addition to this year's winners, two other Berklee Valencia community members were recognized with Grammy nominations: Uruguayan violinist Federico Nathan, an instructor in the contemporary performance (production concentration) and study abroad programs, performed on Vince Mendoza's Olympians, nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Recording engineer Kyle Pyke M.M. ’14. worked on Shara Nova and A Far Cry's The Blue Hour, a 75-minute song cycle that was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Classical.