The Owensboro Symphony’s “A Night at the Oscars,” produced by local agency Tanner+West, has been nominated for a pair of regional Emmy awards. Tanner+West also received four other nominations, while the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum is also up for a pair of regional Emmys for their production of ROMP Festival.
The Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its regional Emmy nominees on Monday.
The Symphony’s “A Night at the Oscars” received nods in the categories of “Entertainment – Short or Long Form Content” and “Audio (Live or Post-Produced).” Tanner+West — a thirteen-time regional Emmy Award-winning agency that has also garnered a Daytime Emmy nomination for their work with the Bluegrass Museum — directed and produced the Symphony’s program.
The “Content” category also listed David Grinnell (Producer/Lead Camera), Jason Tanner (Director), Jared Tanner (Audio Director), and Troy Quinn (Music Director/Conductor) on the nomination for “A Night at the Oscars.” The “Audio” category listed Jared Tanner on the nomination.
“We are so fortunate here in Owensboro to have such world-class talent, from each musician that plays in the orchestra, to our Music Director Troy Quinn, as well as our partner for this project Tanner+West,” said Symphony CEO Gwyn Payne. “Once we saw the final product of a lot of hard work and talent we all knew we were a part of something special. Being nominated for two Emmys was a dream come true and I am so proud to work alongside these amazing individuals.”
Quinn added, “Throughout my career I have worked with many production teams in Hollywood and beyond. Working with Jason and the team at Tanner+West was an amazing experience. The recording is the best product that I have ever been a part of and I am so proud of the work we did together. Being an Emmy nominee is a career first for me and I am thrilled to share this honor with my talented colleagues of the Owensboro Symphony.”
The Symphony first began working on the production in early 2021 to record a performance in front of a live audience. The live recording took place at the Owensboro RiverPark Center in January 2022.
The concert featured Oscar-winning and/or nominated film music, including selections from classics such as “The Godfather” and “La La Land.” Also featured in the concert was Eric Rigler — known for his talents on playing bagpipes, Uilleann pipes, and the tin whistle for many movie soundtracks including “Braveheart,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Titanic,” and “Cinderella Man.”
“A Night at the Oscars” aired for the first time ever on KET in March 2023. KET later announced the release of the program nationally, and the concert has aired more than 100 times in more than 16 states and Puerto Rico on 64 PBS-affiliated TV stations.
“My hope is that through this experience we can introduce more people to the Owensboro Symphony and foster a love for music for generations to come,” Payne said.
The Symphony will be up against the Hall of Fame in the “Audio (Live or Post-Produced)” category.
The Hall of Fame’s nomination — for the ROMP Music Festival Composite production — also lists Western Kentucky University PBS as well as Jeff Petrocelli. nominations came in relation to their annual ROMP Festival. That trio also earned a regional Emmy last year for the “Audio Engineering or Musical Composition” category for Rhiannon Giddens’ performance at ROMP 2022.
The second nomination for the Hall of Fame this year was in the “Director” category for the footage of Ireland-based band We Banjo 3. WKU PBS and Director Elijah Smith were also listed on the nomination.
“We are very excited about the two Emmy nominations,” Museum Executive Director Chris Joslin said. “Our ongoing work with WKU Public Broadcasting is a wonderful partnership, and the Emmy nominations are a great confirmation of the content captured at one the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum’s biggest productions, ROMP Festival. Live music energizes all that we do as a nonprofit organization, so highlighting both video production and audio from the ROMP Festival stage makes a lot of sense.”
Coincidentally, the Museum’s nominations come 2 weeks ahead of this year’s ROMP Festival. Set for June 26-29, the festival will feature headliner Dierks Bently and other well-known acts including Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Molly Tuttle, and more.
Tanner+West also received four other nominations for this year’s regional Emmys:
- Category: Public Service Announcement (Single Spot or Campaign)
Production: Statewide “NOMOREBOXES”
Listed on nomination: Tanner+West, David Grinnell, Jason Tanner - Category: Set Design
Production: Statewide “NOMOREBOXES”
Listed on nomination: Tanner+West, Jason Tanner - Category: Branded Content – Short Form
Production: OH Foundation Grateful Patient – Ken Medley
Listed on nomination: Tanner+West, David Grinnell, Jason Tanner - Category: Photographer – Short or Long Form Content
Production: Glenn – Worry-free Farewells, Preplanned
Listed on nomination: Tanner+West, David Grinnell
The Emmy winners will be announced on July 20 at the Ohio Valley Chapter’s 60th Annual Emmy Awards Gala in Lexington.
