Audrianna Johnson, a 2018 graduate of Delta State University’s Delta Music Institute program, is the person responsible for engineering “The Urban Hymnal” by the Tennessee State University Marching Band. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album this past Sunday night.

Johnson worked for the DMI following graduation, becoming Studio Manager before leaving DSU to join Tymple, a faith based creative agency located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that produces modern gospel recordings. Johnson is the head of Artists & Repertoire and was the lead engineer on the album.

Johnson said, “At the DMI, they always told us to take advantage of every opportunity. That advice has taken me a long way.”

Johnson is an accomplished performer in her own right. She comes from a musical family and had begun writing and recording her own music as a teenager in Grenada, MS. She enrolled at DSU initially as a nursing student, but soon switched to the Entertainment Industry Studies program in order to learn how to produce her own music on a professional level.

Johnson said that her experience in marching bands helped her connect with the project. “I played trumpet for 10 years,” she said. “I marched for four years at Grenada High, and two years at DSU.”

Johnson expects to return to DSU from time to time to mentor students while helping grow Tymple and working on her own music. She is confident that the award will allow her to leverage her position in the entertainment industry into even more opportunities.