“Performance is our version of research,” says Peck School of the Arts horn professor Greg Flint. Flint and Peck School of the Arts colleague Todd Levy, principal clarinet with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, can now add a Grammy Award to their list of research accomplishments, as can their performance colleagues at the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra.
Composer Mason Bates took home the Grammy for Best Opera Recording of 2018 for the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra’s recording of “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.” Flint, associate professor in the department of music, played French horn on the Grammy-winning album. Levy, adjunct instructor and chamber music coach, played clarinet. This recording, released last spring, also earned “Classical Album of the Week” honors from The Guardian in July of 2018.
“The Grammy is always a great honor in our profession,” Levy said, “and this will be my fourth.”
Flint relocates to Santa Fe with his family each summer to perform with the 55-member orchestra. “(R)evolution” is his first Grammy, and the recording also marks one of the few times in his career that a composer joined the orchestra in the pit during the recording.
True to its subject, the opera recording incorporated a number of technological twists and techniques not found in traditional opera. Flint called the experience fun and surprising and said that he hopes to catch the opera on stage during one of its future dates in Seattle or on another tour.
