SAN DIEGO — A University of California San Diego professor's opera is nominated for a Grammy Award, earning his second nomination in a career that has spanned 50 years.
Anthony Davis is a Pulitzer Prize winning composer, in 2020, he won the Pulitzer Prize for "The Central Park Five."
"It's a big part of my life. My ideas as a composer come from playing the piano," said Davis, who has been playing the piano since he was a little boy.
"I've been playing piano for 68 years since I was 5-years-old. I first touched the piano when I was 1. My family lived in the same complex as Billy Taylor and I sat on his lap to play piano," said Davis.
Davis' skills brought him to the classroom. He has been a music professor at UCSD for the last 25 years and now his talents may be rewarded on the biggest stage, the Grammy Awards.
Davis’ opera titled “X- The Life and Times of Malcom X" is nominated in the Best Opera Recording Category.
"To write 'X, the Autobiography of Malcom X,' tells an incredible story during a volatile time in our history and his evolution is a fascinating story," said Davis.
He was first nominated in 1992 in the Best Contemporary Composition category for “X” which debuted in 1986 as a New York City production and was revived this year.
Davis is already working on his writing a new children's opera called "Poncho Rabbit and the Coyote."
Win or lose, Davis has a message for his students.
"Not to short change your dreams and also don’t think small. You can do great things and to believe in yourself that you can do great things. You don’t have to follow the rules. Th rules are set up what happened before not the future," said Davis.
"X" will be live in HD in local movie theaters in Nov. 2023.
You can watch The GRAMMYs this Sunday live on CBS 8 starting at 5 p.m. PST.
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