Charlotte Symphony’s Kwamé Ryan Makes History With GRAMMY Win

Charlotte Symphony music director Kwamé Ryan claimed a GRAMMY Award on Sunday for Best Opera Recording. History was made. Ryan became the first Black conductor to win the prize in that category, and the first music director in the orchestra's 94-year history to earn such an honor.

Ryan won for conducting the Houston Grand Opera production of composer Jake Heggie's "Intelligence." The award also went to mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, soprano Janai Brugger, and album producer Blanton Alspaugh. Gene Scheer wrote the libretto for "Intelligence."

"Speaking for myself, as a Black conductor, we're a small demographic but getting less so one generation at a time," Ryan said in his acceptance speech at the 68th annual GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. "And moments like these could be so inspirational for the people who will follow."

"Intelligence" tells the story of two women who spied during the Civil War. One came from a prominent Confederate family in Virginia. The other was born into slavery and served that family. The opera drew inspiration from the true story of spies Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Jane Bowser.

Ryan became the first person of color named to lead Charlotte Symphony in 2023. He is the 12th music director for the orchestra, which was founded in 1932. The Canadian and Trinidadian conductor had held positions in Germany, France, England, South Korea, and throughout the United States before arriving in Charlotte.

This marked Ryan's first GRAMMY nomination. He learned about it in November when Heggie texted him a screenshot of the GRAMMY website. Ryan was in the middle of rehearsal for an opera in New York at the time.

Growing up in Trinidad, Ryan watched the GRAMMY awards on TV. He told the Charlotte Observer he never thought he would be nominated. "No. It's an easy answer," he said when asked if he ever imagined earning a nomination.

Ryan almost missed the ceremony due to the weather. As 12 to 16 inches of snow blanketed the Charlotte region over the weekend, more than 1,000 flights out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport were canceled on Saturday. The orchestra called off its remaining weekend performances. This allowed Ryan to catch an earlier flight to Los Angeles.

Charlotte Symphony President and CEO David Fisk praised the win in a statement Sunday night. "Kwamé Ryan's GRAMMY win reflects what audiences in Charlotte experience every time he steps on the podium," Fisk said. "We are incredibly proud of Kwamé and this well-deserved honor."

Ryan will return to conduct the orchestra's performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 on Feb. 13 and 14 at Belk Theater.