 For his marimba performance , DePonte earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra , the first time that the Oregon Symphony or any of its musicians had been recognized by the Recording Academy . Following the announcement , DePonte admitted that he was surprised by the nomination and had not felt similar emotions since learning of his invitation to join the orchestra 26 years earlier : " I am completely overwhelmed . I had no idea the recording had been submitted . " DePriest said : " The credit goes to Mary Tooze for making the recording possible , to Niel for his fine playing and to Tomas for writing such a wonderful piece . I am thrilled for everyone concerned . " Svoboda said of the nomination : " The prestige goes to the orchestra . This is a great moment for our symphony . " The Oregon Symphony 's director of public relations commented : " The running joke is that forever more , the name of this organization is ' The Grammy @-@ nominated Oregon Symphony Orchestra . ' The Grammy acknowledgment is recognized as a mark of great artistic achievement . To be nominated is about as good as it gets . " 
