Who is Kwamé Ryan, the new music director for the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra?
Like many kids in the late ‘70s, Kwamé Ryan recalled the electrifying thrill of seeing “Star Wars” for the first time.
It was at a drive-in theater on his home island of Trinidad. Ryan, all of 6 years old, went with his parents and sister.
Sure, he marveled at the costumes and special effects. But what really stuck with him — what left him gobsmacked and disoriented for a couple of days afterwards — was the music. “I was just completely absorbed by the sound of the orchestra,” he said. “It was almost like I couldn’t come back from that musical land far, far away.”
Now he’s going to be the next music director of the Charlotte Symphony, and the first Black conductor for an orchestra formed in 1932.
Charlotte Symphony makes history, names a Black conductor as its new music director
Here are a few other things to know about the personable musician from the Caribbean.
Another formative moment
During a family trip from Trinidad to attend a New York Philharmonic concert, the Ryans saw Indian conductor Zubin Mehta lead a Toscannini tribute with Leontyne Price and Itzhak Perlman.
“I remember watching what (Mehta) was able to do with this incredible orchestra,” Ryan said. “And seeing him up there made me believe that I could fulfill my dream of conducting. He actually caused me never to doubt it.”
Ryan was 9 at the time.
Why he won’t wear a tux and tails
Unlike many maestros, Ryan long ago abandoned wearing a tuxedo and tails while conducting. It was “a comfort thing,” he said.
Ryan often works in contemporary music, where there’s less pressure on the conductor to don traditional dress. So he got into the habit of wearing what felt comfortable. For Ryan, that means a Nehru shirt with open sleeves and nothing tucked in to the trousers.
While he didn’t intend this impact, he sees the outfit as removing a potential barrier between the conductor and the audience. It’s easier to connect with people, he said, when you are not wearing an outfit that “exudes elitism, separation or some elements of a historic upper class.”
What else he won’t wear while conducting
Glasses. Ryan won’t wear them at the podium, just contacts.
“I wear contacts because I sweat far too much when I’m conducting with glasses. I would literally need windshield wipers on my glasses.”
Kwamé Ryan can see the Black Forest from his window
Ryan and his husband live in southwest Germany in Freiburg im Breisgau, a city founded over 900 years ago during the early Middle Ages. It sits on the western fringe of the Black Forest, a popular tourist region that’s also believed to be where the cuckoo clock was invented. Looking out his window, Ryan can see the edge of the forest, where he’ll frequently go for walks or mountain biking.
Kwamé Ryan’s COVID project
In early 2020, Ryan was working at the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s Academy for the Performing Arts when he needed to return to Germany for a doctor’s appointment. He was only supposed to stay in town for a week. That’s when the COVID lockdowns hit.
Fortunately, Ryan had lots of AV equipment to use for teaching his students remotely. But he also wanted to do something more. That’s where he hit on the idea of channeling his ideas into a podcast — “8 Minute Idea.”
The first season is available on various podcast platforms, with topics ranging from “Language as Culture: Why Vibe Attracts Tribe” to “The Gastronomy of Good Thoughts.”
And he has a list of new topics ready to go for the next season.
Ryan dropped out of a CSO job once
By November 2020, the Charlotte symphony was recording concerts for digital distribution with a reduced number of musicians during COVID.
Ryan, who was still working for the Trinidad university at the time, was booked to be a guest conductor that month but backed out of the job.
He wanted to make sure he was giving his full attention to the school, which needed significant help, recalled David Fisk, president and CEO of the Charlotte Symphony. “The fact that he was putting the education of these kids ahead of trying to restart his own career said something to me about his priorities and about the authenticity of his commitment to music education,” Fisk said.
Practicing yoga and Ayurveda
Ryan’s career involves a lot of traveling and a hectic lifestyle. So to clear his mind, he took up yoga.
“And as often happens to me, when I get really interested in something I dive really deep,” he said. Ryan became so good at it, his yoga teacher recommended that he become a yoga teacher too to acquire even more knowledge.
That also led him to study and become a consultant in Ayurveda, an alternative form of medicine that traces its roots to India over 3,000 years ago. It focuses on natural therapies that help restore balance between the mind, body, spirit and environment.
Full circle with the New York Phil
Ryan will return to the New York Philharmonic in May, this time to conduct there for the first time.
On May 4, Ryan will lead the “Young People’s Concert: Celebration” in honor of a century of such concerts. Six days later, he’ll conduct the world premier of Mary Kouyoumdjian’s “Sound On” at the philharmonic.
Thinking back about how Mehta inspired him at the New York Philharmonic, Ryan said, “If I can provide that inspiration and that belief for any young artist... I’d be very, very happy about that, not only for myself and that person, but also for the CSO.”
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