Memphis Symphony Orchestra To Honor Kirk Whalum With 2025 Eddy Award

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra will honor GRAMMY Award-Winner and 12x-GRAMMY Nominated saxophonist and composer Kirk Whalum with the 2025 Eddy Award, which recognizes a community leader who has made a transformational contribution to enhancing cultural awareness through the performing arts while using the power of music to foster intentional inclusion for all people. 

The award will be presented at the Memphis Symphony Orchestra's performance of Christopher Tin's The Drop that Contained the Sea on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at 2:30 PM—the final concert of this season's Paul and Linnea Bert Classic Accents Series at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center. Music Director Robert Moody leads this breathtaking, multi-layered work that explores the profound significance of water in human experience, reflecting on water's universal presence in cultures across the globe. The title of the piece draws inspiration from the idea that a single drop of water contains the essence of the sea, symbolizing both unity and the infinite cycle of life. 

“Kirk Whalum epitomizes exactly what the Eddy Award was meant to recognize,” said Janas Jackson, chair of the selection committee. “As a passionate advocate for music education, Whalum has worked extensively with students in Memphis and beyond to inspire the next generation of musicians,” she said.

"Kirk Whalum's extraordinary artistry and commitment to uplifting the Memphis music scene make him an ideal recipient of the Eddy Award," said MSO Music Director Robert Moody. "Kirk is a maestro of jazz, pop, R&B, and gospel music. He is revered and well loved by the greatest performing artists of the last four decades, and his incredible impact is felt both on and off stage.  I am thrilled that we get to celebrate his achievements."

Previous Eddy Award recipients include Dr. Leo H. Davis, Jr. and Stephen M. Lee.

Memphis Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (Collins Theatre)

37.5% of votes

2. RIDE THE CYCLONE (Collins Theatre)

35.8% of votes

3. COME FROM AWAY (Playhouse on the square)

15.8% of votes

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