Charlotte Symphony's Kwamé Ryan earns Grammy Award

CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra music director earned a Grammy for best opera recording for “Heggie: Intelligence” with the Houston Grand Opera.

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra music director Kwamé Ryan is a Grammy winner.

Ryan, who has led the symphony since 2024, earned music’s biggest prize in the best opera recording category at the 68th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The winning recording was “Heggie: Intelligence” with the Houston Grand Opera in which Ryan conducted the 2023 world premiere of Jake Heggie's work.

Ryan, who was born in Canada, raised in Trinidad and studied in England and Germany, grew up with classical music, but there was also inspiration through jazz and Indian music. As a conductor, Ryan’s globe-hopping work exposed him to a wide palette of cultures.

“Both my parents (Joya and Selwyn), who incidentally are Trinidadians, are big classical music lovers, and had during my youth a really extensive vinyl collection that I had the pleasure to explore it when I was in, in single digits of age,” he told The Post in 2024 upon his appointment to the Charlotte Symphony.

“My mother in particular really loves Bach and Wagner and she's very much into classical music. Growing up on the island of Trinidad, there wasn't a lot of symphonic music being played. In fact, when I was a child, the only opportunities I had to hear an orchestra in Trinidad were the annual productions of the Trinidad and Tobago Opera Society. They would get the best local singers together; they would get the wind and brass from the military band.”

Ryan, the first Black director in Charlotte Symphony is the first music leader in company history to earn a Grammy. 

“Kwamé Ryan’s Grammy win reflects what audiences in Charlotte experience every time he steps on the podium,” Charlotte Symphony President & CEO David Fisk said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of Kwamé and this well-deserved honor. He brings extraordinary clarity, emotional depth, and purpose to the music, and this recognition underscores the artistic vision shaping the future of the Charlotte Symphony.” 

Ryan will return to Charlotte to conduct the Charlotte Symphony in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 on Feb. 13-14 at Belk Theater. 

Comments