Talented graduates from Flushing‘s Queens College are up for the recording industry’s most prestigious award.
Queens College alums Arturo O’Farrill, who earned an MA in Jazz Performance in 2004, and Jerry Seinfeld, who earned a BA in Media Studies in 1976, have each received 2018 Grammy Award nominations.
O’Farrill, who is nominated for Best Instrumental Composition for “Three Revolutions,” was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. The jazz musician graduated from Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music and already has three Grammy wins and seven nominations.
Seinfeld, who is known best for his eponymous sitcom/”show about nothing,” received a nomination for Best Comedy Album for “Jerry Before Seinfeld.” The New York native has two prior nominations.
Finally, Queens College alumnus Mark Carpentieri, owner of M.C. Records, recently released the album “Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train” by Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi. The album is nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Queens College has a long-standing history of being recognized by the Recording Academy. Alumni and faculty have received over 100 Grammy Award nominations and more than 30 wins. Prominent alumni who have won awards in past years including Paul Simon, Carole King and Marvin Hamlisch.
This year’s nominees received congratulations from Queens College President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.
“As we continue to celebrate our 80th anniversary as an institution of higher education, we congratulate our distinguished faculty and alumni for these exemplary achievements which will inspire current and future students for years to come,” the leader said. “Their successes again demonstrate that Queens College prepares its students to build for their futures and excel in the most internationally competitive fields. Good luck to this year’s Queens College Grammy Award nominees, and to our students we say, ‘Keep reaching for the stars!’”
The 2018 Grammy Awards will be televised on CBS on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m., ET.
