2 Southern Utah University music tech alumni earn Grammy nominations

Southern Utah University alumni Ted Kocher (L) and Marie A. Douglas haves been nominated for a Grammy Awards | Photos courtesy of Southern Utah University, St. George News

ST. GEORGE —Two alumni from Southern Utah University’s Master of Music Technology program have been nominated for a Grammy Award.

Alumna Marie A. Douglas recently received a Grammy nomination for her work as an arranger on musician Sean Ardoin’s album “Full Circle.” The Zydeco-based album features a historical collaboration with Louisiana State University’s marching band.

And alumnus and adjunct faculty member Ted Kocher was nominated for his work as the producer on the score for “Call of Duty: Vanguard.” This is the second Grammy nomination for Kocher.

The 65th Grammy Awards will air live on Sunday, Feb. 5, from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, and it will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

Below are profiles of both Douglas and Kocher.

Marie A. Douglas:

‘I have a unique perspective’

Southern Utah University alumna Marie A. Douglas has been nominated for a Grammy Award | Photo courtesy of Southern Utah University, St. George News

“From the very first moments that I began working with Marie in her coursework, I could tell that her career was going to be something special,” said Dr. Steve Meredith, the chair of Douglas’s graduate committee, and founding director of the Master of Music degree program in Music Technology at SUU. “Success as a musician is dependent on a number of factors, but most important are talent, a strong work ethic, and above all, determination.

“Marie embodied these traits as a student, and continues to do so in her career. We are very proud to have her as an alumna of our program at SUU.”

Released in September, “Full Circle” is a tribute to Louisiana in both the artists and music. The album features Ardoin’s band, Kreole Rock and Soul, accompanied by the LSU Golden Band from Tiger Land, making it the first time a marching band and a popular genre band have collaborated on a full album. The music is Kreole rock and soul, a genre created by Ardoin that’s based heavily on Zydeco, a musical genre from southern Louisiana featuring accordion and guitar.

“Zydeco is one of those wonderful Americana genres,” said Douglas. “I’m obsessed with American culture, specifically Black American culture, and I have a unique perspective. I was not going to turn down the opportunity when the marching band director at Louisiana State University approached me with an opportunity to write a few of the songs. I feel so proud to say that I was able to capture some of that music.”

“Full Circle” received a nomination in the “best regional roots album” category.

“Personally, this nomination means a lot,” said Douglas. “I’ve always dreamt of doing what I do and it seems kind of surreal to even be this close to something like this. Professionally, the nomination alone gives you a stamp that you work with things of a certain quality. It’s a blessing to have my name in the proximity of that.”

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Douglas knew from a young age that she would be an entertainer and music was her favorite discipline. After joining the high school band, marching with Florida A&M’s Marching 100, and participating in major performances, including a performance with Prince, her career path was solidified.

Douglas said her time in the program helped build her creative process and realize her voice as a composer who comes from a different demographic than the mainstream.

“For me, education is the only thing that cannot be taken away from me,” said Douglas. “My parents taught me how to read, and told me ‘there was a time when you weren’t allowed to read, you weren’t allowed to learn.’ That has stuck with me my whole life. I have to push myself to the highest level. I feel like I owe that to my parents.”

Douglas often infuses attributes of her favorite genres of music into her creations. Presently she is fixated on fusing Hip-Hop, specifically, the subgenre “Trap Music” with instrumental ensemble elements. Her work is inspired by the music of modern African American and minority music composers such as R. Nathaniel Dett, Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Lili and Nadia Boulanger. She is currently furthering her education and pursuing a composition and music theory doctoral degree at the University of Memphis.

Ted Kocher:

‘We are proud to have him’

Southern Utah University alumnus and adjunct instructor Ted Kocher has been nominated for a Grammy Award for a second time | Photo courtesy of Southern Utah University, St. George News

“Helping students to strengthen their skills, and then apply those skills toward artistic and commercial success is a primary focus of our teaching,” said Dr. Steve Meredith, founding director of the Master of Music degree program in Music Technology. “Ted Kocher represents the very best of this teaching philosophy, and we are proud to have him as both an alumnus of the program, and as an adjunct instructor for our future students in the MMMT program.”

Kocher is a music and audio professional with high-level experience performing every discipline of audio. He currently works as a music supervisor for Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is home to the Playstation brand. This is Kocher’s 14th year working with Playstation and Sony.

Kocher has worked on four out of the last six Call of Duty games, usually the best-selling franchise of the year. He received a Grammy nomination in the “best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media” category as part of the team that produced the score for “Call of Duty: Vanguard.”

“I was the music supervisor for ‘Call of Duty: Vanguard,’” said Kocher. “For me, the development cycle was about two years. The first year and a half was working with the composer and his team to develop the score and the sound. Which is about two and a half hours of music. Then our team came back in to edit the music and implement it to match the creative vision.”

This isn’t Kocher’s first nomination. In 2012, Kocher was part of the team that earned what is considered the video game world’s first Grammy nomination. The soundtrack to the videogame “Journey” received a nomination in the category of “best score soundtrack for visual media.”

“I am really proud of the ‘Journey’ score,” said Kocher. “It was a great moment to be nominated that year after all that hard work. And beyond the Grammy nomination, the game was widely praised. It was an interesting game because there was no dialogue at all in the game, it was very music and sound forward. Our work was a huge part of the experience.”

The video game industry has been lobbying the Recording Academy for a video game-specific category, and until this year, there has not been a specific category for video game music. The new category recognizes the composer(s) of an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, video games and other interactive media.

Kocher’s recognitions also include several Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel awards, BAFTA nominations, and multiple TEC and GANG awards. He holds a master’s degree in music technology from SUU and a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Duquesne University. For SUU students hoping to learn from Kocher, he is an adjunct faculty member in the music technology program.

Written by KENZIE LUNDBERG, Southern Utah University

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!