Jamaican-born composer and music theorist Gavin Chuck has won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for “Dennehy: Land of Winter”, performed by Alan Pierson and Alarm Will Sound, at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Chuck, the Managing Director and a founding member of Alarm Will Sound, grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, “a place that bursts at the seams with music.” He states in his bio that in his youth, radios played constantly during the day, while at night dancehall street parties and church choirs filled the streets with sound. “I still wonder about how the music from one half of my life is connected to the other,” he has said, reflecting on the mix of local sounds and the classical music he pursued after moving to the U.S. for college.
Alarm Will Sound is a contemporary music ensemble based in the U.S., known for performing new, avant-garde, and experimental music, often blending classical, electronic, and popular influences. They’re highly respected for tackling challenging modern compositions and bringing them to life with precision and energy.
Founded in 1996, the group is made up of about 20 musicians, all classically trained, who perform as a chamber orchestra without a conductor on most pieces, though they sometimes collaborate with guest conductors like Alan Pierson. They’ve recorded albums, toured internationally, and premiered works by many living composers.
As a composer, Chuck has written original works and arrangements for Alarm Will Sound, blending his Caribbean roots with contemporary classical music. A scholar as well as a musician, he has taught music theory at the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan, and Northwestern University, exploring the intersection of music theory and cognitive science.
Chuck’s journey from Kingston’s vibrant streets to the Grammy stage illustrates the global reach of his work. “Ultimately, I love that I’m bursting at the seams with music: teaching music, writing about music, composing, and putting on concerts and producing records of new music. All fantastic connections,” he says. His win highlights both his personal dedication and the growing presence of Jamaican artists on the international classical music stage.
Other nominees in the category included French Piano Trios’ La Mer, Lili Haydn & Paul Cantelon’s Lullabies For The Brokenhearted, Mak Grgić & Mateusz Kowalski’s Slavic Sessions, and Third Coast Percussion’s Standard Stoppages.
