Four Bienen School of Music alumni received 2016 Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Eighth Blackbird, a Chicago-based contemporary ensembles that includes Bienen alumni Matthew Duvall ’04 MMus, Lisa Kaplan ’03 MMus, and Nicholas Photinos ’04 MMus among its members, received the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for "Filament." The ensemble has previously won three Grammy Awards.

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero ’92 MMus won a Grammy for Best Classical Compendium for “Three Places of Enlightenment; Veil of Tears & Grand Concerto” by composer Stephen Paulus. Guerrero is music director of the Nashville Symphony. He has previously won two Grammys.

In 2009, Guerrero received an Alumni Merit Award from the Northwestern Alumni Association. The award recognizes those who have distinguished themselves in their particular professions or fields of endeavor.

The 58th annual Grammy Awards were held February 15, 2016.