Giancarlo Guerrero won the Grammy for best orchestral recording last week. The Costa Rican citizen is music director for the prestigious Nashville Symphony. Courtesy of the Nashville Symphony
Costa Rican Giancarlo Guerrero won a Grammy for a second consecutive year as the conductor of the celebrated U.S. orchestra the Nashville Symphony, in Tennessee. Guerrero, 42, and Christopher Lamb won for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for the track “Chasing Light” on the album Schwantner at Sunday night’s award show.
The conductor grew up in San José, and was a member of Costa Rica’s Youth Symphony. Guerrero has conducted all over the world, and recently performed at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York City. He took over the Nashville Symphony in 2009.
Guerrero could not attend the Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles, according to the daily La Nación, since he already had a performance scheduled for the date. He also did not attend last year because he was guest conducting in Belgium.
Last year, Guerrero won his first Grammy for Orchestral Performance of the Year for the symphony’s interpretation of Michael Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony, “Deux Ex Machina.”
“I think a lot of how you conduct and how you make music is a reflection of who you are,” Guerrero told The Tico Times after last year’s victory. “I am grateful every day for the opportunity to make music. To me it is a great honor and privilege. A lot of that energy gets transmitted to the audience. There’s nothing like a live performance.”
To comment, write a letter to the editor to letters@ticotimes.net. Please make sure to include your full name and location. Letters must be 500 words or fewer. Submissions should be original.