Brian Jeffrey
On November 8, the Recording Academy announced the nominees for the Grammy Awards, and Sangeeta Kaur received a nomination for Best Classical Compendium for her album Mythologies II.
Sangeeta, alongside her collaborator Hilá Plitmann, had previously won a Grammy for their first album in the Mythologies series in 2022. The nominees for this year’s award also included Omar Najmi, Robert Thies, Danaë Xanthe Vlasse, and others. The winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 2, 2025.
Expressing her excitement, Kaur shared her gratitude for the nomination, reflecting on a decade of dedication to a piece written by composer Danaë Vlasse. “I’m incredibly thankful to all the Grammy Academy members who voted for Mythologies II! This nomination brings us immense joy. The album has been an emotional journey filled with love and hard work,” she posted on Facebook.
She added, “I feel incredibly fortunate to walk this creative path with my closest friends.”
The album Mythologies II draws inspiration from Greek mythology and features performances by sopranos Kaur and Plitmann, alongside tenor Omar Najmi and pianist Robert Thies. It was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and mixed at Kaur’s studio in Austin, Texas.
Born in 1980 in Montclair, California, Kaur initially went by her birth name Mai Xuan Loan, also known as Teresa Mai, as she began her singing career. Later, a yoga instructor named her “Sangeeta,” which means “queen of sound and melody” in ancient Indian, leading her to adopt the stage name Sangeeta Kaur.
Beyond her music career, Sangeeta is a renowned yoga teacher and was crowned the winner of a 2011 beauty contest within the Vietnamese community in the US.
She holds a Bachelor’s in Music for opera performance from California State University and a Master’s in vocal performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Throughout her career, Kaur has released several well-received albums, including Niguma, Ascension, Mirrors, Compassion, and Illuminance, showcasing a wide range of styles from classical to contemporary and spiritual.
Another Vietnamese talent, director Bao Nguyen, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Music Film for his documentary The Greatest Night in Pop.
This film features exclusive footage and chronicles the creation of the hit song “We Are the World,” written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson in March 1985. A memorable moment captured in the documentary includes the gathering of numerous music icons in a Los Angeles studio to record the charity track aimed at aiding famine relief in Africa.
Nguyen’s film received three nominations at the 2024 Emmys: Outstanding Documentary, Outstanding Directing for a Documentary, and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction Series, while garnering a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Brian Tallerico, the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, noted the uniqueness of that session in 1985, pondering if a similar effort could be replicated today.
Bao’s inspiration for the film surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he reflected on the power of “We Are the World” during difficult times, whether due to natural disasters or social issues.
Born in 1983, Bao holds a BA in International Relations from New York University and an MA in Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His previous works include Once in a Lullaby, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2012, and Live from New York!, which opened the festival in 2015.
Before The Greatest Night in Pop, Bao’s project Be Water (2020) were nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy in 2021.
Additionally, Vietnamese designer Duy Đào has been appointed as a new member of the Recording Academy for 2024, granting him voting rights in this year’s awards season.
Duy is a graduate of the Art Centre College of Design in California, renowned as one of the top design schools globally. He has received numerous accolades from the American Association of Art, and his works are exhibited in the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York. Duy’s design for the Ngot Band’s album Gieo has been nominated for Best Boxset or Special Limited Edition Package at the 2024 Grammy Awards./.VNA
