All praise, no breaks at the Grammy’s
The first Artist-in-Residence at Augustana. Its first blind professor. The first staff member to have won a Grammy.
Matthew Whitaker’s Grammy-winning collaboration, “Super Mario Praise Break,” is a nearly five-minute jazz-infused medley with three solo performances in a single piece, putting a spin on the music usually heard within Super Mario games. Whitaker contributed an organ solo, adding a gospel element on top of a fast-paced beat.
The arrangement won in the category of “Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella,” submitted alongside Cynthia Erivo’s song “Be Okay,” Remy Le Boeuf’s “A Child is Born” and The Westerlies’ ensemble “Fight On.”
“We submitted both the album and the song for a Grammy, and first of all, I’m just so grateful for that,” Whitaker said. “To be in the same category as everybody else that was in it is so incredible because it was a gospel version of video game music in a category with all types of arrangements.”
The group behind it all is the 8-Bit Big Band, a 30–65 member ‘Jazz/Pops’ orchestra that emphasizes recreating musical themes from various video games, according to their main website.
Whitaker, an acclaimed jazz pianist and educator for Augustana’s School of Music, met arranger and bandleader Charlie Rosen in 2023. After telling Rosen how much of a fan he was, Whitaker was invited to collaborate with the band on the piece “Waluigi Pinball.” When it was a success, the 8-Bit Band had a song they knew they wanted Whitaker to work on.
Whitaker fell in love with the project as soon as he heard about it, working alongside drummer and vocalist Bryan Carter and Rosen, creating the song and an album by the same name.
“[Super Mario Praise Break] is essentially a medley of songs from the Super Mario Brother series,” Whitaker said. “There’s also one song from Super Mario Galaxy, and [Rosen] arranged them in the gospel-type style, which is so cool.”
Former Dean of the School of Music Pete Folliard, who now serves full-time as the Vice President of Innovation, has a close relationship with Whitaker. It was Augustana’s close partnership with Yamaha that brought Whitaker here in the first place.
Folliard explained that in 2022, the School of Music received an anonymous gift of a million dollars to help purchase pianos. This inspired him to strengthen the partnership with Yamaha to see what else could be accomplished. Through this, Folliard learned that the school could request an artist to join the program.
Whitaker was then invited to the 2024 Jazz on the Upper Great Plains Festival, and after an electric performance, Folliard knew Whitaker needed to work with the team.
“It’s wonderful to continue to grow the School of Music faculty that has this new level of professionalism and gravitas out in the actual field,” Folliard said. “It just feels right to have that level of artist around us, inspiring us and pushing us.”
Folliard looks forward to seeing what impact Whitaker has on attracting students to the School of Music program, as well as whether his presence will spark the addition of other Artist-in-Residence positions in different departments.
Whitaker’s role includes teaching the History of Blues, Jazz & Rock, alongside private lessons with select students, such as junior music major Lily Olmstead.
Olmstead explains that Whitaker plans to work with every musical ensemble at Augustana, offering his experience regardless of the genre. He teaches advanced aural skills, music theory classes and helps run the jazz combo — he is always happy to help.
“For example, I’m not in choir, but I went to a concert he was featured in last semester and witnessed the influence he had on the groups, and it was amazing,” Olmstead said. “He introduced them to gospel music and added his own flair on the organ, and it was one of the greatest choir concerts I’ve ever been to.”
In working closely with him, Olmstead describes Whitaker as bringing overwhelming enthusiasm and positivity wherever he may go, an opinion President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin agrees with.
“You can't help but smile when Matthew's playing,” Herseth Sandlin said.
Whitaker plans to continue his work with the 8-Bit Big Band and his role as Augustana’s Artist-in-Residence, as well as balancing appearances and shows outside of the university. He is set to perform with the Augustana Band on April 24 at the Washington Pavilion and welcomes students to visit him in the Fryxell Humanities Center.
