By Jimmy Myers St. Joseph News-Press
A Benedictine College music professor recently accepted an
award in Hollywood for composing the “best jazz piece” of the year.
Dr. Christopher Greco, assistant professor of music,
accepted the award from the Hollywood Music and Media Awards (HMMA) on Nov. 15
at the Fonda Theater. The HMMA honors a variety people in the music industry,
from music legends to A-list composers to music supervisors.
Mr. Greco accepted his award on the same stage as the
musicians responsible for HBO's “Newsroom,” and musicians and composers who
produced pieces for feature films, independent films and video games. HMMA
honored Motown legend Smokey Robinson in last year's ceremony.
Dr. Greco's composition, “Maia,” is the song selected as
best jazz piece of 2012 by the HMMA. It is named after one of the seven stars
in the Pleiades star cluster, the name of which comes from Greek mythology. Dr.
Greco has Greek lineage and has composed songs named after other stars in the
Pleiades cluster.
The 53-year-old Los Angeles native wasn't raised in a
musical family, yet came to music as naturally as one would breathe, he said.
He's worked professionally in a variety of capacities, including performer,
scholar, teacher and composer.
As a performer he specializes in woodwinds, primarily
saxophone, flute and clarinet. He was nominated for an HMMA award last year and
has been recognized throughout his career with other awards, including the 2001
Julius Hemphill Composition Award, and 10 ASCAPlus Awards from 2002 to 2011.
Although he has three degrees in music, Dr. Greco considers
himself an autodidact – meaning he takes a self-taught approach to which most
professional musicians subscribe. Dr. Greco once lived 15 minutes from the
Brand Library & Arts Center in Glendale, which has one of the largest
holdings of music in California.
The resource was invaluable to an autodidact such as Dr.
Greco. The information he gleaned there came out in original pieces he composed
later.
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