ad tendo

ARTIST: SIMONE PORTER
BBC Music: ★★★★★
Porter is completely secure in the technical demands of the music, and also has an unerring sense of pacing, so that nothing outstays its welcome.
— BBC Music
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Eric Wojahn

 

ADORATION

ARTIST: ALAN PIERSON, THE CHOIR OF TRINITY WALL STREET, SILVANA QUARTET
“Few operas arrive with such a fierce sense of purpose … MISSING is strongly anchored in well-drawn characters — in an entrancing and highly accomplished piece with a distinctive atmosphere resonating from an ancient, mystical world view.”
— Gramophone
Best Opera Recording
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Daniel Neumann
The Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change
This Time of Year by Mary Kouyoumdjian

 

as we are

ARTIST: POIESIS QUARTET, NANCY MAULTSBY
”Their debut recording sees the four players completely confident in themselves and the music they’re performing.”
— Cleveland Classical
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
String Quartet No. 1, Shades Of Green by Clint Needham
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Songs of Correspondence by Richard Stout

 

AUDACITY (LIVE)

ARTIST: SHANE SHANAHAN
Audacity is a conversation…between the musicians on stage, between the musicians and the audience…all unique voices exchanging ideas and emotions.”
— Celtic Life International
Best Global Music Album
Best Global Music Performance
Best Instrumental Composition
Heavy Heart (Live) by Shane Shanahan

 

CELLOSTATUS

ARTIST: NICHOLAS FINCH, NOULOU CHAMBER PLAYERS, JASON SEBER
Cellist Nicholas Finch and the NouLou Chamber Players present Cellostatus, a compelling album featuring three new works for cello and orchestra conducted by Jason Seber. This world premiere collection showcases compositions by Alyssa Weinberg, Dorian Wallace, and Ljova (Lev Zhurbin), exploring comprehensive themes in modern life through a blend of traditional and innovative musical elements.
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Cellostatus by Ljova
Best Classical Instrumental Solo

 

DAWN

ARTIST: Grand Electric
“As with their performances on this album, Wunsch and Dancigers's compositional styles also complement each other, with the latter's more continuous, incremental, luminous, process-based pieces a foil to Wunsch's ominous quartal harmonies and gritty juxtapositions.”
— Gramophone

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Best Instrumental Composition
Take Chants by Aaron Wunsch
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Image and Gravity by Mark Dancigers

 

ECLIPSE

ARTIST: FIVEBYFIVE
"A total solar eclipse visited North America on April 8, 2024. To celebrate this breathtaking celestial event, fivebyfive created a one-of-a-kind concert experience for audiences that included originally commissioned inspired music to celebrate the eclipse, with immersive video presented on a full dome of a planetarium. This album captures music from the concert and offers audiences a means in which to explore and meditate on their own experiences of the eclipse, pondering the wonder of it all.

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
In the Path of Totality by Jessica Meyer
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Eclipse by Marc Mellits

 

FORGIVENESS

ARTIST: ALBANY SYMPHONY, DAVID ALAN MILLER, MARC BAMUTHI JOSEPH
Forgiveness is a powerful new orchestral work by composer Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) and librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, performed by the Albany Symphony under David Alan Miller. Framed as a four-part meditation: Redemption, Reconciliation, Discernment, and Grace, the piece explores forgiveness as both a personal and political act. Roumain’s score blends symphonic sweep with moments of intimacy and silence, offering space for Joseph’s searing spoken-word reflections on race, justice, and democracy. Together, they ask: Can our country survive without forgiveness?

Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Forgiveness by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Marlan Barry

 

HEARTH

ARTIST: ARIEL HOROWITZ
Ariel Horowitz’s debut album Hearth invites you to gather and warm up around the fire. Hailed by the Washington Post as “sweetly lyrical,” Ariel offers a dialogue of classical works and original songs, spoken word, and soundscapes; Kreisler, Still, and Szymanowski alongside her own cider donuts, Solitude, How Do You Tell Your Child?, and not that bad. Hearth’s varied soundworlds tell stories of healing, community, and liberation.

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

 

IMMUNITY

ARTIST: JOSHUA ROMAN
"The album title — “Immunity” — reflected the “experience of Covid and wanting to be immune from this,” as well as the idea that the world is interconnected and people need to depend on each other."
— New York Times

Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Immunity by Joshua Roman
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Duet by Joshua Roman
Best Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals
Hallelujah arranged by Joshua Roman
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Joshua Roman and Tessa Lark
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Producer of the Year, Classical
Adam Abeshouse

 

MISSING

ARTIST: ATOM (ARTISTS OF THE OPERA MISSING), TIMOTHY LONG, CONTINUUM ENSEMBLE

Best Opera Recording
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Missing by Brian Current

 

NOVA

ARTIST: ATOM (ARTISTS OF THE OPERA MISSING), TIMOTHY LONG, CONTINUUM ENSEMBLE

Best Opera Recording
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Missing by Brian Current

 

Seasons of Change

ARTIST: CURTIS J STEWART

Best Classical Compendium
Best Instrumental Composition
Seasons of Change by Curtis J Stewart
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Seasons of Change by Curtis J Stewart

 

SEVEN DAYS

ARTIST: PEDJA MUŽIJEVIĆ

Contemporary Classical Composition
Seven Days by Gregory Spears

 

SHAPES IN COLLECTIVE SPACE

ARTIST: TALLÃ ROUGE

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Best Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals
Fluorescein by Gemma Peacocke
Best Contemporary Classical Composition
Shapes in Collective Space by inti figgis-vizueta
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Andrew Tripp
Producer of the Year, Classical
Elaine Martone

 

THE MIRAGE CALLS

ARTIST: KANSAS CITY CHORALE, CHARLES BRUFFY

Best Choral Performance
Producer of the Year, Classical
Blanton Alspaugh
Best Engineered Album, Classical
Dirk Sobotka, Jacob Steingart