ISM alums and students receive Grammy award

Congratulations to several current and former ISM students who were involved with the album Ochre by The Crossing, which just won the 2025 Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category. Those ISM students included conductor Kevin Vondrak D.M.A. ’30, and vocalists Matthew Cramer M.M. ’17 and James Reese M.M. ’18.

Congratulations also go to several Yale Schola Cantorum alums: Nate Barnett ’15 and Isobel Anthony ’20 are also members of The Crossing, and Caroline Shaw M.M. ’07 composed the title track for Ochre. Shaw also won in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category for Rectangles and Circumstance, a collaboration with Sō Percussion.

The Grammy Award for Ochre is The Crossing’s fourth Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category.

In addition to The Crossing taking home the win in this year’s Best Choral Performance category, all four of the other category nominees featured former students of the ISM. Read more about these albums and nominations here.

View more information about Ochre here.