The JUNO Award winners have been announced and a pair of Humber Polytechnic alumna along with a pair of faculty members are showing their brilliance with wins.
The 54th annual JUNO Awards, which are an annual celebration of the best of Canadian music, happened March 30 in Vancouver. Several Humber-affiliated artists who found their edge while at Humber were nominated in a variety of categories, including Music and Comedy program alumni and faculty.
Winning in the Vocal Jazz Album of the Year category was Hello! How Are You? by Caity Gyorgy. Gyorgy is a Humber Bachelor of Music alumna. Also nominated in that category was Wintersongs by Laila Biali, who is a Humber Music (Keyboard) alumna as well.
Hello! How Are You? was released in August and is Gyorgy's fourth studio LP. It features Anthony D'Alessandro on piano, Thomas Hainbuch on bass and Jacob Wutzke on drums.
Gyorgy is no stranger to the JUNOs nor the Vocal Jazz Album of the Year category, having previously won in 2022 for Now Pronouncing: Caity Gyorgy and again in 2023 for Featuring.
Winning in the Comedy Album of the Year category was Honourable Intentions by Debra DiGiovanni - DiGiovanni is a Humber Comedy: Writing and Performance alumna. The award-winning comedian can be seen on Comedy Central's Stand-Up series as well as the digital web series Steph & Deb. DiGiovanni has also performed on Conan, was a finalist on NBC's Last Comic Standing and has specials on Amazon Prime, Netflix and Crave.
In 2019, her album Lady Jazz was nominated for a JUNO as well as a Top Ten Comedy Albums of the Year award.
Winning in the Jazz Album of the Year (Group) was Gravity by the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio. The trio includes two members of Humber's Music faculty - Larnell Lewis and Rich Brown.
Lewis was also nominated in the Jazz Album of the Year (Solo) category for Slice of Life.
For more on Humber's music programs, visit the Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design website.
Humber alumni nominated for a JUNO Award who are not included in this story are welcome to inform alumni@humber.ca.
Humber Polytechnic is more than just a place for higher education. It's a place where students come to reach their full potential; where they can find the person they knew was in them all along. In this Spotlight Series, part of Humber's The You You Knew Was In You campaign, we're highlighting current students and alumni who found the you that was in them, and gained their edge at Humber. Learn more by visiting humber.ca/you.
