APPLETON, Wis. — A Lawrence University professor won a Grammy on Sunday.
Voice professor Estelí Gomez’ vocal ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, won for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for the album “Rough Magic,” which was released in May 2023.
The ensemble was also nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for the recording of “Psychedelics.” However, they didn’t win the Grammy for it.
This isn’t the first time Gomez and the members of her ensemble have won a Grammy. Back in 2014, Roomful of Teeth won a Grammy in the same category, but for their self-titled debut album.
They were also nominated in 2016 after releasing their second album, “Render.”
Now, they’ve claimed their second Grammy for their third album.
“I’m so glad to have this album out in the world finally, after eight years between our second and third albums,” said Gomez in a press release. “We’re really proud of it. It’s an honor for our group to have been nominated for Grammys for all three of our albums, but this one is such a special mix of music that we’ve gotten to tour and dig into over years of live performances, commissioning projects, and artist residencies.”
Gomez joined the Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music faculty in 2019. For her, it’s been a delicate balance between performing and teaching.
In fact, prior to her sendoff, Gomez said she’d be catching redeye flight to Wisconsin at midnight following the awards show so she could teach Monday morning.
The Grammys also came at a time when the ensemble has several major events.
The group had a Saturday night performance in Santa Barbara this past weekend and has a series of performances coming up in Paris with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra.
Gomez said she’ll be flying to Paris soon. While away, she’ll teach remotely before heading back to Appleton. She said these kinds of performances help inform her teaching because it inspires the way she thinks about singing.
“That makes my teaching always more creative and alive upon my return,” she said.
Brian Pertl, dean of the Conservatory, said it’s been a joy to watch Gomez work over the past five years.
“Estelí Gomez is one of the most versatile and virtuosic singers in the world,” said Pertl in a statement. “Classical, jazz, musical theater, throat singing, and heavy metal. She literally can do it all. When she is not performing at the most famous concert halls around the world, she is here at Lawrence teaching. And her teaching is as virtuosic as her singing.”
Students of Gomez were excited about their professor’s Grammy nomination.
“It’s inspiring as a student to see the payoff of all the techniques that she imparts to us in our lessons,” sophomore Ava Wadia said in a press release. “It’s also a point of pride I think for me, like I get to shout, ‘That’s my voice teacher!’ at people.”
Wadia and other students were with Gomez on Grammy’s night in the form of a necklace given as a form of good luck. It’s a charm that seemed to do the trick.