Article in Rockford's newspaper about Emily and the Grammy Awards.
www.rrstar.com/story/news/2022/04/01/rockfords-emily-bear-up-grammy-best-musical-theater-album/7225299001/In case this doesn't work for Eulenspiegel:
From walking the red carpet to reality settling in, Rockford's Emily Bear talks Grammys
Jeff Kolkey
Rockford Register Star
ROCKFORD - It was while bumping elbows Saturday with other artists at a nominee brunch in Beverly Hills when it really started to hit home for Rockford's Emily Bear.
This is real. She is a Grammy Awards nominee.
"I got to meet some of the nominees and it was just a lot of fun and it started to hit me," Bear said during a phone interview. "This is real. This is happening. This is more than my name on a piece of paper. We are actually nominated."
In what has been a whirlwind few months for Bear, 20, she wrapped on a feature film score for Netflix. She orchestrated and conducted the anthem for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration. She and collaborator Abigail Barlow are writing music for a new Broadway show.
And this Sunday, for the first time, Bear and Barlow will attend the 64th Annual Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas as nominees.
Bear and Barlow have been nominated for Best Musical Theater Album for their "Unofficial Bridgerton the Musical," a 15-song concept album that was created in real time on social media. Their creative sessions went viral with fans giving the duo immediate feedback on the music inspired by the hit Netflix series set in 19th century London.
A Rockford native, Bear who now lives in Los Angeles considers Rockford home. She returns often to visit her family who still live here. She said the "entire Bear clan" including her father Dr. Brian Bear and her mother, Andrea Bear, and her siblings are going with her to the event.
Bear's category will be awarded among more than 70 others during the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony streaming at 2:30 p.m. on grammy.com and the Recording Academy's YouTube channel
But Bear - who decided against hiring a stylist (what she called the "L.A. way") and bought an outfit and a dress while shopping with her mom - said she will also walk the red carpet and attend the main event televised on CBS as well.
Bear said it is nice for her work to be recognized with a Grammy nomination even if she doesn't win the award. It, in a sense, has already legitimized the concept album and her work "in a way nothing else could have," she said.
"If we walk away with the nomination and that’s it, I will be so happy," Bear said. "The nomination already means so much. I just feel honored to have our name on that list."
Jeff Kolkey: (815) 987-1374; jkolkey@rrstar.com; @jeffkolkey