By Fatima Salinas

Two alumni from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are nominated for the 67th Grammy Awards for their achievements and contributions in the music industry.

Alicia Rau, a professional trumpet player who double majored in music and anthropology, and her band Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats are nominated for Best Children’s Music Album for their album Creciendo.  

“It is an incredible and significant honor to be nominated along with the entire band, due to the leadership of Lucy Kalantari,” Rau said. “Her openness to the creative process allowed us to contribute our voices to this album.”

Cole Gaffney, who graduated with a degree in film and art in 2019, is a nominee for his collaboration as a sound engineer for Malik Yusef’s “Good M.U.S.I.C. Universe Sonic Sinema: Episode 1 In the Beginning was The Word.” The project is nominated in the Best-Spoken World Album category.

“It still is surreal, and I am honored to have been a part of this project,” Gaffney said. “There were about 50 contributors on this project, me being one of them, but it will and can potentially change my life forever.”

Learn more about Rau and Gaffney’s respective Grammy-nominated projects and their passion for music.

Alicia Rau

After graduating from the University of Iowa in 2001, Rau completed a summer internship in New York City at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning. She later directed and expanded elementary school band programs in collaboration with the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.  

Now a full-time musician, Rau teaches both private and public music lessons over Zoom to piano and trumpet students across the U.S. She presents masterclasses in schools and colleges about her experiences in becoming a professional musician in New York City. She also often performs while pedaling across Iowa during RAGBRAI.

Creciendo, the album up for a Grammy, is a joyful celebration of resilience, emotions, friendship, and community. The 10 songs are crafted with rich arrangements designed to delight and inspire imaginations, while honoring a child's journey of growth and connection.

“Being a professional musician comes not without hurdles or hardships, but it does also allow you to experience incredible things, and being nominated for a Grammy is one of them,” Rau said.

Lucy Kalantari and the Jazz Cats have performed at Sesame Street, the Brooklyn Library, Austin City Limits, San Diego’s Epstein Arts Center, Levitt Pavilion in Connecticut, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Upcoming shows include the Association of Performing Arts Professionals Conference at Lincoln Center, Miami’s Little Jam Fest, and the Spring Forward Family Music Festival in Nevada.  

“I want to continue performing, recording, and teaching music for the next generation of musicians,” Rau said. “I’ve been working to share my own music on social media, as well as produce a series of masterclasses for university and educational settings.

Cole Gaffney

Throughout his college career, Gaffney produced music, turning his basement into a studio and connecting with local artists and students to make music.

“In 2019 I graduated with a degree in both film and art, but I knew my real passion was music,” Gaffney said.  “I landed an internship in West Hollywood that allowed me to be in L.A. for two months, and I haven't left since.”

In 2020, he became Chip Tha Ripper’s head engineer in his home studio, networking and learning the ropes of engineering in a professional setting as well as the power of meeting people.  

“I was lucky to vocal track his first project BONFIRE, as well as featured artists and any singles we collated on,” Gaffney said “Then in 2023, Chip bought his own studio in North Hollywood. This is now where I work and book sessions every day.”  

In 2024, through the connections Gaffney made during his time in L.A. and his rising career, he met Malik Yusef and had the opportunity to work with him prior to the nomination.  

“In August, he came in for a meeting with Chip, and he described how he had been working on a spoken word poetry album and how he was going to get it Grammy nominated,” Gaffney said. “My contribution came in when he had Grammy-nominated trumpeter Keyon Harold come through and record some instrumentation.”

Gaffney recalls how he knew Malik Yusef wanted him to engineer the songs for Harold, create a good vibe and deliver for his project. The group got to work and helped mix the songs with other engineers so they could reach the upload deadline with all 25 poems.

“It was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything and in the moment, it might have felt exhausting, but it was absolutely worth every second,” Gaffney said.