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Jack Gallagher produced a recording of Olivier Messiaen's "Oiseaux Exotiques," which won a Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra."

WOOSTER, Ohio, Feb. 23, 2007 - A recording of Olivier Messiaen's "Oiseaux Exotiques" (Exotic Birds) produced by Jack Gallagher, the Olive Williams Kettering Professor of Music at The College of Wooster, won a Grammy Award in the category "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra." The award was announced at the Grammy ceremonies on Feb. 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"Oiseaux Exotiques," recorded at Cleveland State University in May 2004, features pianist Angelin Chang and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony conducted by John McLaughlin Williams. The recording was released on compact disc in March 2006 by the TNC (Troppe Note/Cambria) label in Las Vegas.

Gallagher, who says he was "stunned" by the outcome, learned of the award in an e-mail message from former student Douglas Buchanan, a 2006 College of Wooster graduate who is currently in the master's degree program in composition at the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore.

Word of the award has garnered the attention of Ohio and national media. Segments about the Grammy victory have appeared on WKYC-TV, in the Akron Beacon Journal, and in New Yorker music critic Alex Ross's blog "TheRestisNoise.com." Writing about the Grammys in the Feb. 18 Cleveland Plain Dealer, music critic Donald Rosenberg noted, "Never mind the Dixie Chicks. How about those Buckeye Classicals?

"They're the Ohio musicians and recording producers and engineers who took home awards last week at the 49th annual Grammys ceremony in Los Angeles.

"…Surely the most poignant award went to pianist Angelin Chang, conductor John McLaughlin Williams and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony for Olivier Messiaen's "Oiseaux Exotiques" in the category of best instrumental soloist performance with orchestra.

"They share the award with recording producer Jack Gallagher of The College of Wooster and engineer David Yost from Cleveland State University, where the recording…was made."

In gratefully acknowledging the announcement, Gallagher said, "The recording's award bears testimony to the vitality of the arts in Northern Ohio and to the exceptional talents and commitment to new music of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, soloist Angelin Chang, conductor John McLaughlin Williams, and recording engineer David Yost. It was an honor to serve as producer of this recording, and I remain grateful to founder Edwin London and former managing director Steve Olans for this unique opportunity."

Gallagher's Grammy-winning colleagues were generous in their recollection of his role as producer. Soloist Chang said, "Dr. Jack Gallagher was imperative to the success of our Grammy award-winning recording. The combination of his understanding of the music and musicians helped make this collaboration a winner."

Conductor Williams said, "The award is an acknowledgment of the exceptional team of artists that participated in the recording's creation. Dr. Gallagher's participation as producer was indispensable to its artistic and technical success. Indeed, everyone associated with the recording performed at the highest level, and they all deeply deserve this recognition."

Recording engineer Yost added, "I am positive that we could not have achieved our success with this recording without (Gallagher's) musical vision and ears. He was the best producer I have worked with, and I think the team we had was magic."

Speaking on behalf of the music department, longtime Gallagher colleague and current department chair Brian Dykstra said, "We in the music department at The College of Wooster are immensely proud of Jack Gallagher's achievement as producer of the Grammy-winning recording featuring pianist Angelin Chang with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony in Olivier Messiaen's fascinating work for piano and orchestra, “Oiseaux Exotiques." Although in a sense we are amazed that one of our number had a role in a Grammy-award winning recording, in other ways we are not. Wooster's music faculty and students have grown familiar on a daily basis with Jack's keen listening skills, steel-trap memory, fine judgment, perseverance in the pursuit of excellence and fairness even in the face of stiff obstacles, and devotion to contemporary music and the composers-including his own students-who create it."

The published recording, on TNC-1515 (Troppe Note/Cambria), is available from CD Baby or from TNC.