IU performers nominated for Regional Emmys

Among the ranks of musical talent, IU’s Tyron Cooper and Marietta Simpson have been nominated for regional Emmy Awards.

Their work in the documentaries “Musical Threads: Expressions of a People” and “Open Door: China in Indiana” aired in October and December, respectively, on WFYI, the PBS affiliate in Indianapolis.

“Musical Threads” will air again at 4 a.m. May 19 and “Open Door” will air at 4:30 p.m. June 24.

Winners of the Emmy Awards will be announced at the annual Lower Great Lakes Regional Emmy Awards on June 2 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

While Cooper is a doctorate candidate in ethnomusicology from the IU College of Arts and Sciences, Simpson is currently a voice professor at the IU Jacobs School of Music.

“We’re absolutely thrilled for both of them,” said Alain Barker, director of marketing and publicity at Jacobs. “It’s a project we were aware of for a while, and we’re very excited they could work together to do the program and be recognized in the way they have been.”

Simpson has sung with major orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States with many of the world’s greatest conductors, including the late Robert Shaw in her Carnegie Hall debut in 1988, as well as Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel and Simon Rattle, according to the press release.

She adds these programs to her collection of recordings and television appearances that include the Covent Garden production of “Porgy and Bess.”

From 1999 to 2005, Cooper served as director of the IU Soul Revue, an R&B and jazz group from the African American Arts Institute. Additionally, he has directed, accompanied and arranged for a diverse set of artists, such as Soulful Symphony, Dionne Warwick, A Taste of Honey and Donnie McClurkin.

“My great experiences with music basically came from all my prior performing experiences, as well as education at Jacobs at IU,” Cooper said.

“It had prepared me to engage the diverse experiences and try to collaborate with people as a musician with the mind or insight into what makes great television.”
Cooper said his rigorous and diverse education has greatly helped him in his current work.

“With a lot of practice and a lot of prayer, I was ready for the door to open, which culminated into this exciting moment,” he said.

Simpson echoed his sentiments.

“When we received news of the Emmy nomination, we were all very excited that this production presenting music of African-American traditions, that was so special to each of us, was also recognized by the industry as noteworthy,” Simpson said.
Cooper performed with Angela Brown in the presence of the WFYI production team, which landed him the opportunity to work on “Musical Threads.”

“They had followed what I had done with Angela and a few other artists in the past, so I formed a relationship with them, and it became my musical bridge,” he said.

From there, Cooper brought in Simpson to collaborate for “Musical Threads” on eight or nine pieces from the 18th century to the present, including some original scores.

“Bob Williams and the production staff of WFYI fully embraced our artistic vision, and what followed was nothing short of a dream,” Simpson said.

Although the pair has only collaborated for three or four years, Cooper said he feels as if he is performing with his sister.

“It’s indescribable,” he said. “I’m always enthused and excited to work with Marietta. I always learn something new and different and great.

Marietta also performs different styles of music, and with each style she brings a different approach.”

After “Musical Threads,” Cooper told Clayton Taylor at WFYI about his desire to do more film scoring. It just so happened that Taylor had a project that needed music, and Cooper’s involvement in “Open Door” was born.

“It was a challenge to find ways to bridge the gap between presenting an art form in its most accurate, cultural context with cameras and lights shooting at us,” Cooper said.

He praised Williams and Taylor for approaching the projects with open minds, listening to Cooper’s and Simpson’s thoughts and sharing their own expertise. Flexibility was also required to make the production possible.

“There were times when we were performing where we did things that we didn’t rehearse,” Cooper said. “It takes a collection of creative people, open minds, expertise and the will and desire to get it right, to make a product to look back on and be proud of.”

Each artist has a formula for approaching music, he said.

But it eventually becomes a signature, and it is difficult to pinpoint what causes that success.

“I try to create the best music I can from the heart, and for me to (have a chance) to win that award, it is humbling,” Cooper said. “I’m so thankful to God that he allowed me to be nominated.”

Since the nomination, he said his phone and email cannot be silenced.

“With the exposure on PBS I’m ecstatic,” Cooper said. “I’m almost speechless that it’s getting aired over 50 percent of the country.”