Four alumni and a faculty member from the Frost School of Music have garnered 11 nominations for the Latin Grammys, the most prestigious awards in Latin music, whose nominees were announced on Tuesday, Sept. 17th.
The 25th edition of the annual Latin Music Awards Show will be held Nov. 14thin Miami’s Kaseya Center, the first time the show has been staged here live since 2003.
Leading the Frost School connected nominees was alumnus Julio Reyes Copello (M.M. ’00 in Media Writing and Production), one of the top producers in Latin music. Copello is nominated for Producer of the Year, a major award, which he previously won in 2022, for multiple recordings, many from the soundtrack album for “Zorro,” a Spanish-language action series on Prime Video.
The Miami-based Colombian native, who already has five Grammy and nine Latin Grammy awards, was also nominated twice for Song of the Year, another top prize, for two songs from the “Zorro” soundtrack: “Aún Me Sigo Encontrando” (I’m Still Finding Myself), which Copello co-wrote with salsa legend Rubén Blades and star singer-songwriter Gian Marco, and which is also nominated for Best Traditional Pop Album; and “A La Mitad” (In Half), which Copello co-wrote with Mariana Vega and which is also nominated for Best Pop Song. His fifth nomination is for Best Arrangement, on Ricky Martin and Christian Nodal’s "Fuego De Noche, Nieve De Día.”
Additionally, Copello was a producer or executive producer on three other nominated projects: salsa superstar Marc Anthony’s “Muevense,” nominated for Best Salsa Album, and Best New Artist nominees Ela Taubert and Agris.
Copello expressed thanks for his work, which continues to captivate people, and for the Frost School's role in shaping his career. “This feeling of gratitude never gets old,” he said. “As a creative person, I always tap into my role of being a messenger of beauty. My only goal is to capture, every day and in the best possible way, my version of beauty, free of the expectations of the industry and the trends.”
“The University of Miami and the Frost School gave me the resources to trust in my intuition, and I’ll be forever grateful for this amazing place.”
Another star alumnus who makes a showing is Carlos ‘Carlitos’ Lopez, also a Colombian native, who has turned his three degrees from Frost into a vibrant career in both classical and Latin pop music. Last spring, Lopez translated his prowess in those disparate musical worlds into a groundbreaking collaboration with reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny, composing and producing orchestral music for the title track on Bunny’s album “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana” (No One Knows What’ll Happen Tomorrow), and leading an orchestra filled with Frost School students and alumni on tour with the global pop star. Now Lopez, as a co-writer, co-producer, and performer on the title track, shares in the Latin Grammy nominations for Best Urban Fusion/Performance and Best Urban Music Album for “Nadie Sabe.”
Lopez credited the Frost School with fostering both the skills and mindset that enabled him to bridge musical worlds. “I had the pleasure to do my undergraduate studies in music production, my masters in classical composition, and my doctorate in orchestral conducting,” Lopez said. “The flexibility of navigating different realms in music is not always allowed in other music programs. What I do today reflects the journey the Frost School supported me in taking.”
Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the brilliant Cuban jazz pianist on the faculty of the Frost School’s jazz program, is nominated twice for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album: for “Collab,” his album with Hamilton De Holanda; and for revered percussionist Sammy Figueroa’s "Searching For A Memory (Busco Tu Recuerdo)" which features Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola.
Professor John Daversa, chair of the studio music and jazz program, played and arranged on the “Searching” track “Tu Seras Mia” (You’ll Be Mine.) And alumna Natalia Ramírez, M.A. '17 in Arts Presenting and Live Entertainment Management, was an engineer on Camilo and Carin Leon's Record of the Year nominee "Una Vida Pasada" (A Past Life.)
Two other Frost alumni were nominated for Best Instrumental Album - José Valentino (M.M. ’12 in instrumental performance), and Carlomagno Araya (a drummer and producer with a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in jazz studies from the Frost School), for "Claude Bolling Goes Latin – Suite For Flute And Latin Music Ensemble.”
“As artists who blend genres and bring together different traditions, this nomination feels like a validation of the innovative spirit that the Frost School instilled in us,” said Valentino, a multi-instrumentalist, producer and associate professor at the University of Florida School of Music & College of the Arts, whose prolific and successful career includes four Latin Grammy and 55 Downbeat awards. “The Frost School equipped us with a mindset of innovation, collaboration, and cultural awareness that has been crucial in our careers. The rigorous training in classical and contemporary performance gave us the tools to excel across genres, but it was the emphasis on versatility and entrepreneurship that truly prepared us for a multi-faceted career in music.”
