REVIEWS
Grams has musicianship and technique to burn.
by June LeBell, YourObserver.com
…Grams as their able leader. Here we heard the results of a far less confined conductor who efficiently made it clear what he wanted — pathos, power, and, yes, precision.
by Gayle Williams, Herald-Tribune
…Grams’ insightful and affectionate reading of Aaron Copland’s suite from “Appalachian Spring” proved the biggest revelation. The conductor managed to evoke heart-stopping stillness and bracing vibrancy, sometimes at the same time.
by Catherine Reese Newton, The Salt Lake Tribune
…Andrew Grams led the ASO comfortably through the sublime legato introduction, the developing pace and complexity of the middle section, with its alternate frenzies and sighs, to the peaceful finale of this stand-out piece.
by Peter Bleby, Australian Stage
His presence in front of the orchestra was confident, pleasant and musical, but more than that, the playing he elicited from the orchestra was top-notch.
by Janelle Gelfand, Cincinati.com
Grams and the Grant Park Orchestra certainly whetted the appetite for the opera with the richly idiomatic rendering of the suite. The conductor drew out a lyrical and surprisingly expressive account of this rather slight score.
by Lawrence A. Johnson, Chicago Classical Review
…Grams is extremely gratifying to watch: He shows us what he wants us to notice, even as those elegant gestures ensure that what the orchestra plays is worthy of notice.
by Elissa Poole, The Globe and Mail
… he paid careful attention to details but took an architectural approach, relating surfaces to surfaces in complementary or contrasting fashion, as the structure of the work required.
by Peter Perret, Classical Voice of North Carolina