Fifteen musicians chosen to perform at 50th GRAMMYs with Foo Fighters
GRAMMY.com
The top 15 "My GRAMMY Moment 2008" semi-finalists have been chosen to perform on the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards with four-time GRAMMY winners the Foo Fighters, it was announced today by The Recording Academy.
The 15 semi-finalists were picked by a vote of fans at YouTube.
"Hundreds of thousands of music fans are committed to supporting their favorite 'My GRAMMY Moment 2008' finalist, and that loyalty is at the core of the fan and music maker relationship," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Millions will tune in to watch the debut of a very deserving and talented orchestra, chosen by music fans, as they experience the career highlight and musical opportunity of a lifetime."
The talented musicians are guaranteed a spot in the Foo Fighters' orchestra and will fly to Los Angeles during GRAMMY Week to rehearse and perform with the current five-time GRAMMY-nominated rock band. Led Zeppelin's legendary multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones will arrange a special orchestral version of the Foo Fighters' hit single "The Pretender" and will serve as special guest conductor of the orchestra.
The Top 15 semi-finalists are:
Luis Alberto (23, violin), Hattiesburg, Minn.
Lisa Dondlinger (33, violin), Winnetka, Calif.
Brian Fitzgerald (23, violin), Coatsville, Penn.
Christine Wu (31, violin), Santa Monica, Calif.
Tina Guo (22, cello), Sun Valley, Calif.
Rami Hachache (18, trumpet), Los Angeles
Jennifer Heilig (25, violin), Bonsall, Calif.
Jeffrey Hughes (25, violin), Denver, Colo.
Tara Klein (27, cello), Cleveland, Ohio
Michelle Morales (27, cello), Chicago
Emily Palen (29, violin), Oakland, Calif.
Andrew Pearson (18, violin), Batavia, Ill.
Cameron Summers (23, trumpet), New York
Ann Marie Calhoun (28, violin), Gordonsville, Va.
Abigail Wilenksy (21, violin), Nashville, Tenn.
The three finalists will be announced on Feb. 4. Fan voting for the "featured performer" will take place Feb. 4 through Feb 10. at 8 p.m. ET at YouTube. After that, voting will be open during the first two hours of the live telecast (8 – 10 p.m. ET) via text messaging provided by VeriSign. The featured instrumentalist will be announced live onstage during the telecast prior to his/her ultimate GRAMMY Moment with the Foo Fighters.
Video submissions of the 15 instrumentalists, rules and regulations, and voting information are available at YouTube. Musical instruments for the "My GRAMMY Moment" segment will be provided by Gibson Guitars.
The 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 10 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 Surround Sound on the CBS Television Network from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The show also will be supported on radio via Westwood One worldwide and XM Satellite Radio, and covered online at GRAMMY.com. Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon.
