Following its annual Board of Trustees meeting in the spring, the Recording Academy announced four new national officers and 19 leaders. Among them were Frost alums Julio Bagué, BBA '90, MM '93, and Natalia Ramirez, MA '17.
In partnership with Recording Academy President/CEO Harvey Mason, Jr., a producer, songwriter, and film producer, who is also The Academy's first African American president and CEO, the Board of Trustees serve as national leaders who will continue The Academy's aggressive efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, while fighting for artists' rights, preserving music's history, and investing in its future.
"I'm pleased to introduce and welcome the new National Officers and Trustees to our Academy family," Mason announced at last month's meeting. "This great, new group reflects our eclectic music community and will carry forward our mission of serving all music people. I look forward to working alongside this esteemed group to continue the evolution of our Academy."
This is Ramirez's third year as The Academy's Board of Trustees member. Since she graduated from Frost, the Colombian native, Multi Grammy-Award winning audio engineer and arts manager has worked for Sony Music and Arts House in Miami with University of Miami peer, renowned record producer, pianist, composer, songwriter, and record engineer, Julio Reyes Copello. Last fall, she also launched her own management company called Petite Boss.
Ramirez first got involved with the Recording Academy six years ago when she met up with a few members of the Florida Board in Miami. Then in 2020, she was voted into the Board of Trustees and is now on her second term, representing her community at a national level.
"The Trustee Board votes on issues that affect our communities," explains Ramirez. "For example, before The Grammys had the "Urban Latin Album" category, the trustee board voted for that to be included in the awards. We also vote on topics affecting the music recording industry, like advocacy or royalties. We attend The Grammys on the Hill in Washington yearly, where you have more national-level discussions. Having a voice that impacts you and others in the music community is good. I'm a woman and a Latina working with Latin pop artists. As the youngest member of the Board of Trustees, I have a unique perspective of music from, let's say, someone who works with hip-hop artists and lives in New York City."
Working on similar grounds is Bagué. He is a member of the Frost School of Music's Dean Advisory Committee and vice president of the Latin Division, East Coast, and Puerto Rico at peermusic in Miami Beach. Since its inception 98 years ago by founder and visionary Ralph S. Peer, Peermusic has become the largest independent music publisher in the world, with 38 offices in 31 countries and owning or administering over 1 million copyrights. With his new role on The Recording Academy's Board of Trustees, Bagué plans to continue playing his part in the contemporary music scene worldwide.
"When you're starting out in the business, you're just trying to make a name for yourself, no matter whether you're a musician, artist, producer, or executive," he says. "As a veteran in the industry, this new role is a way of giving back to the music community for me, and The Recording Academy is a great platform to do that."
Years ago, when he joined The Academy's Florida chapter, he served as chairman of the advocacy committee. His job involved promoting or pushing laws that benefited the music community—speaking to politicians and trying to create events or awareness about specific industry issues.
As a Trustee, he says, "I'd like to see The Recording Academy give more exposure to Latin music. The Academy often thinks that because we have the Latin Grammy Awards, that should satisfy the community. But really, the Latin Grammy Awards are for Spain and Latin America, whereas the Recording Academy itself is for U.S.—homegrown artists. So, I plan to advocate for Latin artists in the United States and Puerto Rico, which is part of the States. I'm happy to represent Florida and the U as well."
