Kip Winger
The SOS message emanating from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in March was no cry for help. Rather, it was a coded message of sonic joy, announcing the arrival of composer Kip Winger’s terrific new Symphony No. 1 “Atonement.” Best known for his eponymous 1980s metal band, Winger is also a classical composer of the first rank. In his Symphony No. 1, Winger imagines a person receiving an SOS signal from their own lost soul. Over the course of four movements, this musical spirit searches for salvation, eventually achieving a glorious metamorphosis in the reverie of the finale. Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony recorded the work for future release on the Naxos label. One anticipates another Grammy nod for this celebrated ensemble.
