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The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Source:  Fox News

Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:25 PM

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East Tennessee Classical Composer Jennifer Higdon Wins Grammy Sunday Night At 60th Annual Awards Celebration

East Tennessee has an impressive talent for producing award-winning musicians and storytellers, and at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards this was evidently clear.

Jennifer Higdon, one of America's most acclaimed contemporary Classical composers, took home her second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition on Sunday for her composition "Viola Concerto."

While originally born in Brooklyn and raised in Atlanta, Higdon's family eventually made their way to Seymour, Tenn. where she played flute and percussion at Heritage High School. She eventually graduated and pursued a music degree at Bowling Green State University.

"Viola Concerto" was co-commissioned by the Library of Congress and the Curtis Institute of Music where Higdon teaches at. The concerto was performed by soloist Roberto Díaz with the Nashville Symphony and conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero.

Higdon won her first Grammy at the 52nd Awards in 2009 in the same category for her composition "Percussion Concerto." Including her first nomination in 2004, she's been nominated for a Grammy a total of five times.

Higdon wasn't the only person with East Tennessee ties up for a Grammy this year. Bradley Reeves, the co-founder of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS), and WDVX host Wayne Bledsoe were both nominated for the Best Album Notes for Arthur Q. Smith: The Trouble With the Truth. Also in the running for the same category was ETSU professor Ted Olson for his notes in Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition.

Knoxville native Kenny Chesney's album Cosmic Hallelujah was up for a Grammy for Best Country Album this year. Kentucky native Chris Stapleton ultimately took home that award with his album From A Room: Volume 1.

 

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