UVa-Wise graphic artist, alumnus nominated for Grammy Awards

UVa-Wise graphic artist Jenny Salyers and alumnus Jack Wright ’71 have been nominated for Grammy Awards for their work on the two-CD set “Music of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields.”

“Music of Coal,” produced by Wright for the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth, has been nominated for three Grammy Awards including best recording package, best liner notes and best historical album.

The box set contains 48 songs addressing various aspects of coal mining history and culture, including black lung, union organizing, environmental impacts and the contribution of coal to the national economy. The CDs are accompanied by a book of liner notes with striking historical photographs and a cohesive visual design tying the piece together.

“I’m just shocked,” Salyers said of her nomination. “When I agreed to work on the project, winning any kind of award was the farthest thing from my mind.”

Salyers was responsible for the design of the album’s packaging, which includes cover design and the page design of the book of liner notes. She worked with Wright and Paul Kuczko, director of the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth. Wright is nominated for his composition of the liner notes.

Wright said “Music of Coal” was nominated by a member of the band Pure Prairie League, which he says is an honor itself.

 “Music of Coal” has entered the second round of nominations, where the top five will be chosen in each category. Salyers and Wright will find out by Dec. 6 if their work has earned them a ticket to the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 10, 2008.

Salyers has worked at UVa-Wise for two years as a graphic artist and printing assistant. During that time, she also has served as the designer of “The UVa-Wise Magazine.” A native of Wise, she studied art at the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver, Colo. Salyers also studied graphic design at Mountain Empire Community College and is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in art at UVa-Wise. She is married to Johnny Salyers and has a daughter, Markie, who is 19.

Wright is an assistant professor in the School of Film at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He became interested in the music of coal mining while studying with Helen Lewis at Clinch Valley College (now UVa-Wise). Wright lives in Athens with his wife, Sharon Hatfield.

The only branch campus of the University of Virginia, UVa-Wise is ranked among the nation’s top ten public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. UVa-Wise offers Virginia's only undergraduate degree in software engineering, among 28 other degrees and professional programs in the liberal arts tradition of Thomas Jefferson.

Posted October 5, 2007