Berklee Alumni Recognized at the 2026 Grammy Awards

Berklee Alumni Recognized at the 2026 Grammy Awards Winners took home trophies in 11 categories, including Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical.

February 2, 2026

By

Daniel Pesquera

Carla Patullo BM 01 MM 13

Image courtesy of the artist

Berklee alumni continued their tradition of success at the Grammys, earning awards across a diverse array of projects and categories at the 68th annual ceremony held Sunday, February 1, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

For the second consecutive year, Amy Allen '15 won Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical, for cowriting all 13 tracks on Sabrina Carpenter's Man's Best Friend, as well as hits for ROS , Bruno Mars, Shaboozey, Jessie Murph, and others. Laufey BM '21 captured her second Grammy for A Matter of Time, which won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Carla Patullo BM '01 MM '13 won her second Grammy in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category for Nomadica. Saxophonist Yainer Horta '02 won in the Best Latin Jazz Album category for performing on A Tribute to Benny Mor and Nat King Cole.

Additional winners included Charlie Rosen '12, who earned his third Grammy for his arrangement of the 8-Bit Big Band's Super Mario Praise Break (Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella); Donald Philip PD '21, for producing Arkais Brightside (Best Contemporary Instrumental Album); Erin Bentlage '14, for her arrangement of Nate Smith's Big Fish (Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals); Kevin Camp '07, for producing Coritos Vol. 1 by Israel & New Breed (Best Contemporary Christian Music Album); Todd Whitelock BM '89, for producing and engineering Christian McBride's Without Further Ado, Vol 1 (Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album) and Sullivan Fortner's Southern Nights (Best Jazz Instrumental Album); and Akihiro Nishimura BM '05 and Berklee NYC staff member Matthew Soares for their work as recording engineers on I Will Not Be Moved (Live) by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir (Best Roots Gospel Album).

Alumni also contributed to Sinners, which won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Includes Film and Television): Gernot Wolfgang PD '89 (orchestrator), Jakov Naumoski BM '24 (score mix technician), Greg Jamrok '89 (music preparation), and Felipe Pacheco BM '15 (music editor). Jonathan Asperil '15 contributed as a producer to Album of the Year winner Deb Tirar M s Fotos by Bad Bunny and Durand Bernarr's Bloom, which won for Best Progressive R&B Album. Jannick Frampton BM '21 contributed to A Matter of Time as an assistant mix engineer, and David Spreng PD '97 mixed Preacher Kids by Robert Randolph, which won for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Cheche Alara BM '94 served as the music producer and music director for the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony for the tenth consecutive year.

Watch Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Yainer Horta, and Joey Calveiros acceptance speech after winning the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album:

Overall, alumni won 11 Grammy Awards across 11 categories. The list below is subject to change as winners are verified with the Recording Academy.

Songwriter of the Year, Non-ClassicalAmy Allen '15

APT. (ROS and Bruno Mars)

Bad as the Rest (Jessie Murph)

Hail Mary (Shaboozey, Sierra Ferrell)

Handlebars (JENNIE feat. Dua Lipa)

Just Keep Watching (Tate McRae)

Lost in Translation (Car n Le n and Kasey Musgraves)

Manchild (Sabrina Carpenter)

Tears (Sabrina Carpenter)

WHY (Jon Bellion feat. Luke Combs)

Best Latin Jazz AlbumA Tribute to Benny Mor and Nat King Cole, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Yainer Horta, and Joey Calveiro

Yainer Horta '02, saxophone

Best Traditional Pop Vocal AlbumA Matter of Time, Laufey

Laufey BM '21, artist

Jannick Frampton BM '21, assistant mix engineer

Album of the YearDeb Tirar M s Fotos, Bad Bunny

Jonathan Asperil '15, producer

Best Large Jazz Ensemble AlbumWithout Further Ado, Vol 1, Christian McBride

Todd Whitelock BM '89, producer and recording engineer

Best Jazz Instrumental AlbumSouthern Nights, Sullivan Fortner

Todd Whitelock BM '89, producer

Best Contemporary Instrumental AlbumBrightside, Arkai

Donald Philp PD '21, producer

Best Contemporary Blues AlbumPreacher Kids, Robert Randolph

David Spreng PD '97, mixer

Best Contemporary Christian Music AlbumCoritos Vol. 1, Israel & New Breed

Kevin Camp '07, producer

Best Roots Gospel AlbumI Will Not Be Moved (Live), Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Akihiro Nishimura BM '05, recording engineer

Matthew Soares, recording engineer (Berklee NYC staff)

Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant AlbumNomadica, Carla Patullo

Carla Patullo BM '01 MM '13, artist

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Includes Film and Television)Sinners

Gernot Wolfgang PD '89, orchestrator

Jakov Naumoski BM '24, score mix technician

Greg Jamrok '89, music preparation

Felipe Pacheco BM '15, music editor

Best Progressive R&B AlbumBloom, Durand Bernarr

Jonathan Asperil '15, producer

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella Super Mario Praise Break, The 8-Bit Big Band

Charlie Rosen '12, arranger

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals Big Fish, Nate Smith

Erin Bentlage BM '14, arranger

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