Nashville Arts Magazine

Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero | A Force of Nature

Giancarlo Guerrero stared at his computer with growing alarm. It was 5:30 in the morning  on December 1, and Guerrero, an early riser despite the nocturnal nature of his job as music director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, was going through his routine. He checked his email and was stunned at what he saw. “There were like a zillion messages in my in-box, so I immediately thought that something must be wrong, someone must have died,” says Guerrero, who added a touch of dread to his usually euphoric, rapid-fire speech pattern. “But then I noticed that people from all over were congratulating me, and I wasn’t even sure at first what it was all about.” Guerrero had gone to bed the night before without realizing that the 54th Annual Grammy Awards were about to announce this year’s nominees. Once again, Guerrero and the NSO were getting a nod. The ensemble was nominated in the Best Classical Instrumental Solo category for its recording of contemporary American composer Joseph Schwantner’s Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra. The CD was recorded at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center last winter for the Franklin-based Naxos label. The Grammy Awards air February 12.

If Guerrero had known that the Grammys were coming, he might have stayed up like a kid anticipating Christmas, since it was a good bet that the NSO would be nominated. The orchestra has been on a Grammy streak…

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