By Madi Taylor
Staff Writer
The Grammy Awards is the mecca for musical talent and skill. Fittingly so, junior Darynn Dean took the spotlight with seven other teens early this February and performed for legends in the music industry.
Although Dean has only been singing for three and a half years, she was able to hone in on her skills and perform her way to the infamous Grammy stage. After an online-audition process in October, Dean was invited to perform in the Grammy jazz choir led by Dr. Ron McCurdy, a professor at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.
The Grammy choir got the opportunity to perform at the pre-nomination party and after-party for the Grammys.
“Hayden was a really great influence and gave me a lot of support through the process,” Dean said. “He was able to connect me with former participants from Costa, and he really encouraged me to audition for the choirs and participate in this great program.”
When Dean was accepted into the choir, she was given a selection of six to seven songs to learn and practice leading up to the event.
“The directors called once a week to confirm that we were learning the songs,” Dean said. “We would sing the two weekly assigned songs over the phone to the producers, get their feedback and receive the assignment for the following week.”
The eight-man choir, consisting of members from high schools across the country, finally connected in February before they performed for the crowd. They had seven-hour practices for four consecutive days, which allowed the members to bond and work together as a group so they could shine and perform as a cohesive group during the shows.
“When the choir got together, I wanted them to sound like they had been performing together for four years, not four days,” McCurdy said.
The jazz choir also got the opportunity to open for Vampire Weekend at their Grammy Tour concert at USC the week before the Grammys.
“It was really cool to be able to perform at these events,” Dean said. “It was definitely nerve wracking, but we all knew that we were really well-prepared. Once we got up on stage and started singing, it was just like rehearsing. Everyone did a fantastic job, and the performances all went really smoothly.”
The Grammy choir directors set up an informational meeting for the performers with lead music industry figures, such as Glen Barros, who has worked with prominent performers like Elton John and Esperanza Spalding. He shared with choir members the realities of being a recording artist in today’s modern world.
“We were able to get connected to so many different and wonderful people in the music industry,” Dean said. “The input that they gave us regarding our potential careers was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I would not trade for the world.”
The Grammy choir also got the chance to record the songs that they had been preparing in a studio with several music producers from Concord Records.
“When we were recording, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were recording in the studio next to us,” Dean said. “Even though we didn’t get to meet them, that was the ultimate experience to know that we had made it far enough to be recording in the same studio as two of the biggest names in music history.”
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