Hartt Alumnus wins 2nd Grammy Award

Ryan Speedo Green '08, an alumnus of The Hartt School, received his second Grammy Award this past weekend, adding to an impressive collection of accolades in his career.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in music at Hartt, Green went on to win numerous singing competitions, eventually becoming an international opera star with numerous credits to his name.  

The recent Grammy Award is for his role as Uncle Paul in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, which opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2021-2022 season.

To further spotlight his many achievements, Opera News is featuring him on its March issue cover, and will share more of his story in a feature article. 

Green is also the star of the upcoming Met premiere of Champion, also composed by Terence Blanchard. The new production will debut April 10 – May 13. 

Additional credits include appearances with Houston Grand Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra. Past awards include the 2014 George London Foundation Award, the 2014 Annenberg Grant, and the 2014 Gerda Lissner First Prize. He was also a finalist at the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. 

Green has also been recognized by UHart; in 2018, he was the recipient of an Anchor Award, the UHart Alumni Association's most prestigious honor.

In fall 2016, his autobiography Sing for Your Life was published. The book tells the story of Green’s personal and artistic journey from a trailer park in southeastern Virginia and time spent in Virginia’s juvenile facility of last resort, to the Met. He has visited, spoken with, and sung for youth at the facility where he was once incarcerated.    

After receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hartford’s The Hartt School in 2008, Green earned a master’s degree in music from Florida State University. He is a native of Suffolk, Va.