Winning a Grammy is an undeniably cool thing. But when you get home, where do you put it? Mantlepiece dead centre might seem a little prominent, depending on your visitors. Putting it among old sporting trophies or Best in Shows might be seen as an underselling of the achievement. Grammy-as-doorstop suggests you don’t care enough.

New York City-born and bred composer-singer-violinist Jessie Montgomery was awarded her first Grammy (for best Contemporary Classical Composition) earlier this year. “Yeah,” she tells Limelight, “I keep in it my studio. It’s a work thing so it lives better there.”

It’s also a reminder, Montgomery says, that as a composer, she has arrived.

Jessie Montgomery. Photo © Jiyang Chen

“The last few months have been really exciting. After the Grammy, I had all sorts of proposals come in from people I never thought I’d ever get to work with. But the main thing about having a Grammy for me is that it’s helped reframe how I want to work, that I can call my own shots.”

“There is a progression to establishing yourself in music and up until now, I’ve felt like I’ve been finding my voice...