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A handout screengrab shows US violist Richard O’Neill accepting the best classical instrumental solo award for “Theofanidis: Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra” during the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center, in Los Angeles, California on Sunday. (The Recording Academy) |
Third time’s the charm for violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill.
The three-time Grammy nominee took home the award for the best classical instrumental solo for his recording of Christopher Theofanidis’ “Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra” in the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards held on Sunday, local time.
The recording was made under the baton of conductor David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony Orchestra.
“This is a great day for the viola,” O’Neill said in his virtual acceptance speech.
“Thank you to the recording academy for this honor of a lifetime,” he said, while expressing gratitude to the composer, conductor, the orchestra and more.
O’Neill was nominated in 2010 for the best chamber music performance award for “Schoenberg: String Quartets Nos. 3 & 4” and in 2005 for best instrumental solist(s) performance (with orchestra) award for “Schoenberg: Concerto For String Quartet And Orchestra.”
O’Neill is a well-known classical musician in Korea. He was the music director of Ensemble Ditto from 2007 to 2019, and also headed the Ditto Festival, working to broaden the audience range for classical music.
Last year, the violist joined the Takacs Quartet, a renowned chamber music ensemble from Hungary.
Richard O’Neill was an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the first violist to earn an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School.
By Im Eun-byel (
silverstar@heraldcorp.com)
