History-Making Grammy Wins for Two NEC Alumni
New England Conservatory alumna Stephanie Economou ‘12 Composition made history at Sunday night's Grammy Awards as the first-ever winner of the Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media for "Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok."
As the only woman nominated in the category, this award puts Stephanie at the forefront of an exciting new era of recognition of non-traditional forms of composition. During her time at NEC, Stephanie studied with award-winning composers and educators Kati Agócs, John Mallia, and Michael Gandolfi.
"I just want to recognize all of the people who fought tirelessly to bring this category of video game music into existence," Stephanie said during her acceptance speech. "Thank you for acknowledging and validating the power of game music. This is truly such an honor."
Composer Steven Feifke, who graduated from the NEC Prep Certificate Program in 2009, won his first Grammy for “Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra” in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Category.
About Stephanie Economou
Stephanie Economou is a composer and violinist based in Los Angeles, CA. Her early successes have emerged from her exploration and study of widely varying musical styles, including classical, experimental, folk and rock. Stephanie’s experience in film scoring extends from drama to action to comedy, which has demanded the synthesis of an electronic and acoustic musical palette. It is her uniquely hybridized compositional voice which has proven a valuable asset across a wide spectrum of visual media.
Stephanie is the composer of the Netflix TV series “Jupiter’s Legacy,” based on the comic series by Mark Millar. She has written the music for the Lionsgate/Starz series “Step Up: High Water,” as well as the second season of” Manhunt: Deadly Games,” and two episodes of the Disney+ documentary series “Marvel 616,” directed by Gillian Jacobs and Alison Brie. Stephanie continued her collaboration with Gillian Jacobs on the LucasFilm/Disney+ documentary feature “More Than Robots.” Most recently, she scored the Assassin’s Creed: “Valhalla,” DLCs “The Siege of Paris” and “Dawn of Ragnarök,” as well as the Netflix series, “The Chair,” created by Amanda Peet and starring Sandra Oh.
Stephanie is a long-time collaborator of Golden Globe-nominated composer, Harry Gregson-Williams, composing additional music on scores such as Disney’s live-action remake “Mulan,” directed by Niki Caro, Jon Turtletaub’s “The Meg,” Antoine Fuqua’s “The Equalizer 2,” Disneynature’s “Penguins,” and Ridley Scott's Oscar-nominated film “The Martian.” Her music can also be heard in Niki Caro’s “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” Ben Affleck’s “Live By Night,” and Simon Baker’s “Breath.” She has also aided in crafting the scores for Hulu’s mini-series “Catch-22” directed by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, as well as the ABC/Warner Bros. TV series “Whiskey Cavalier.”
Originally from Long Island, New York, Stephanie received her Bachelor’s degree in Composition from the New England Conservatory of Music and Master’s in Composition for Visual Media from University of California Los Angeles. In 2015, she was chosen as one of six fellows for the Sundance Institute Composers Lab at Skywalker Ranch. Stephanie was also selected for the 2018 NBC/Universal Composers Initiative and is a 2021 BAFTA Breakthrough Artist. She is the winner of the 2022 Society for Composers and Lyricists David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent for her work on "Jupiter's Legacy." As a resident board member for The Alliance for Women Film Composers, Stephanie considers the empowerment of women in film an exceedingly necessary platform, and strives to make her voice, as well as other female voices in the industry, heard. http://www.stephanieeconomou.com/
About Steven Feifke
Heralded a “masterful pianist” by JAZZIZ Magazine, Yamaha Artist Steven Feifke is an award winning bandleader, composer, and arranger. A two-time semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition, Feifke appears on over 30 records, and his writing work has graced stages and screens around the world, with features ranging from the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra with Sean Jones and John Faddis and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with Ken Peplowski, to hit TV shows like Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Impractical Jokers, and Animaniacs. He currently sits on faculty at The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. https://www.stevenfeifkemusic.com/