Two SAE Institute Audio Technology instructors’ projects have been nominated for 2017 GRAMMY® Awards in the Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music category.
SAE Institute Chicago instructor James Auwarter is credited for his engineering work on Hezekiah Walker’s track ‘Better’ from the album Azusa The Next Generation 2 – Better, which has been nominated for Best Gospel Performance/Song. The album was recorded at the legendary Avatar Studios in New York.
Additionally, SAE Institute Nashville instructor Matt Leigh is credited for his work as an engineer on Natalie Grant’s ‘Kings of the World’ from the Be One album, which has been nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
GRAMMY®-Award winning engineer, James ‘Studio James’ Auwarter is an adjunct instructor at SAE Institute Chicago, where he teaches an Advanced Signal Flow course that focuses on engineering in large professional studio environments. A recording/mixing/mastering engineer, James’ accomplishments include one GRAMMY® Award and 31 credited GRAMMY® nominations. His career spans a wide variety of musical genres – including Hip-Hop, R&B/Soul, Rap, Rock, Jazz, Classical and Gospel.
James’ client list of notable artists include Kanye West, Yo-Yo Ma, Kirk Franklin, Jenifer Hudson, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer, Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Tom Higgenson (Plain White Tees), Donald Lawrence, Hezekiah Walker, Rihanna, Fred Hammond, Bobby Jones, Anthony Hamilton, John Legend, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Lupe Fiasco, and Mavis Staples. James recently opened Coda Room Audio, a new studio in Chicago where he has already produced a Billboard #1-charting album, mastering Daniel Weatherspoon’s jazz record The Langley Park Project. James’ work has appeared on four platinum-selling albums and six gold albums.
Matt Leigh serves on the Advisory Technology Council at SAE Institute Nashville, where he is also an instructor teaching courses in Music Production Skills, Digital Audio Theory, Recording Studio Techniques, Music Theory, and Pro Tools Software, including hands-on demonstrations for multi-track recording, editing, and mixing techniques. His diverse notable clients include Natalie Grant, Violet & The Undercurrents, Sister Sadie, and El Gun Legro. He is currently working on releasing debut records for country artist, Sheridan Gates, and pop artist, Dani King.
Natalie Grant’s track is Matt Leigh’s first GRAMMY®-nominated project. “This is a really big deal and an honor to have a project you worked on receive a GRAMMY® nomination”” says Leigh. “To be successful in this industry you have to be passionate about every project you work on, have enduring patience, and treat every artist with kindness.”
Matt is also the Studio Manager and Head Engineer at The Tracking Room.
These nominations for the 59th Annual GRAMMY® Awards further distinguishes SAE Institute as one of America’s premier providers of creative media education, proven by the achievements of its talented, industry experienced faculty.
Matt Leigh photo credit: Daniel Brown
