{"193431":{"#nid":"193431","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Conductor Is No Stranger to Grammys","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA few Sundays ago, you may have snuggled up on your sofa and watched the Grammy Awards to see if your favorite artists would win. But not if you were Laura Inman \u2014 she was actually there.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt is an unbelievable experience, being surrounded by some of your favorite artists in the world. A huge bonus is getting dressed up and walking the red carpet before the ceremony,\u201d said Inman, an assistant professor and assistant director of choirs, who just attended her third Grammy Awards ceremony. \u201cIt\u2019s surreal to look up and see icons such as Sting and B.B. King standing within arms length.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor years, Inman has sung with professional choirs, including the Phoenix Chorale, where she has been a part of multiple recordings that have been nominated for and have won Grammys.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost recently, the group won for \u201cSpotless Rose,\u201d which took home the award for Best Small Ensemble Performance in 2008.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u2019s invitation came about after Inman participated in a recording by the Kansas City Chorale, \u201cLife and Breath,\u201d which was nominated for and won Grammys in the Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Choral Performance categories. (Although Inman isn\u2019t a member of the chorale, the conductor, Charles Bruffy, is also the conductor of the Phoenix Chorale. He invited Inman and three other Phoenix singers to join the recording.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUnfortunately, every member of the group doesn\u2019t get to take home a gold trophy, but it really doesn\u2019t matter. Just being there is surreal, and sharing it with some of your best friends is priceless,\u201d she said. \u201cWe all look forward to the after-party at the Staples Center. The party spans several ballrooms, with each featuring different live music, and is fully catered. It\u2019s the kind of night you never forget.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle had an opportunity to learn more about Inman and her time at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDid you always know you wanted to be a conductor?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003ENot a conductor, but I was always interested in music. As a child, I was very artistic. I took dance lessons, painted, and played the piano and the clarinet in band. Monday night girls\u2019 chorus rehearsals were my favorite part of the week. When I walked into the School of Music at the University of Louisville for the first time as an undergrad, I knew that music was going to be a part of my life forever. My love for conducting was inspired by one of my college professors who encouraged me to continue on after earning my bachelor\u2019s. I went on to Arizona State University (ASU) and pursued both a master\u2019s and doctorate in conducting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you arrive at Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EAfter I earned my degrees from ASU, I spent five years working with students at a charter school in Arizona and continued singing in the Phoenix Chorale. But a year ago, I decided to use my training and seek a university position, which had been a goal of mine. I liked that the music program at Tech wasn\u2019t traditional \u2014 kind of like me. I accepted the position because I felt like I\u2019d be able to grow here, and I have.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDescribe an average day in your job.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI work with both the GT Chorale and the Women\u2019s Chorus, so that is where the majority of my time goes. I also teach voice lessons to some of our music minors, and I\u2019m designing a course that will eventually be required for music technology majors. Since I also have an active singing career, I have to find time to learn the songs \u2014 many of which are in various foreign languages \u2014 for my own upcoming performances. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are a few misconceptions people might have about your job?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003ESome people might think that we just play music all of the time, when in reality, I still have to meet all of the requirements that any other tenure-track professor does. Also, I\u2019ve learned that you don\u2019t have to have a degree in music to be a beautiful singer. I\u2019m forever impressed by how talented some of my students are here at Tech, given that they don\u2019t always have much musical experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to have lunch?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EZaya in the Student Center Food Court, and I always order the shawarma, which is a kind of wrap filled with chicken.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be? \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMy father. He passed away a few years ago, and I\u2019d love to be able to have a conversation with him again.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI have always loved Irish dance, so I recently began Irish dance lessons. It\u2019s much harder than I expected!\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA few Sundays ago, you may have snuggled up on your sofa and watched the Grammy Awards to see if your favorite artists would win. But not if you were Laura Inman \u2014 she was actually there.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A few Sundays ago, you may have snuggled up on your sofa and watched the Grammy Awards to see if your favorite artists would win. But not if you were Laura Inman \u2014 she was actually there."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-02-19 14:13:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:40","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"193351":{"id":"193351","type":"image","title":"Laura Inman","body":null,"created":"1449179879","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:57:59","changed":"1475894843","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:23","alt":"Laura Inman","file":{"fid":"196348","name":"inman_i.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/inman_i_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/inman_i_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":146963,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/inman_i_0.jpg?itok=jvCRsVB6"}}},"media_ids":["193351"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"58931","name":"Grammys"},{"id":"39621","name":"Laura Inman"},{"id":"167096","name":"school of music"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}