February 2, 2000
CenturyMen's Christmas
album gets Grammy nod
___NEW YORK (BP)--For the first time in their 30-year history, The CenturyMen, a 100-member men's chorus of Southern Baptist musicians, has been nominated for a Grammy Award.
___The group's most recent recording, "Beautiful Star--A Celebration of Christmas," is one of six nominees in the category of best classical crossover album. The winner will be announced Feb. 23 at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards, to be broadcast on CBS.
___"We see our work as a way to communicate the message of Christ with the secular world," said Buryl Red, The CenturyMen's musical director. "I feel like our music can communicate beyond the musical language of the church."
___Red, 62, has been the musical director and principal arranger for The CenturyMen since the group's inception. Several of his choral works, including "Celebrate Life" and the first performing edition of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's "Magnificat," are considered musical landmarks.
___Founded in 1969, The CenturyMen is comprised of more than 100 men, each a director of music from a Baptist church, representing 22 states and two foreign countries. The group has performed across the world, including the People's Republic of China, Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
___Red said The CenturyMen will return to the recording studio in the summer to produce a new compilation of music.
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