The Nashville Symphony Association and Symphony Ball 2025 co-chairs Grace Awh and Sarah Ingram announced that the prestigious 2025 Harmony Award will be co-presented to legendary musical tastemaker T Bone Burnett and to The Grand Ole Opry, the long-running country music radio showcase which turns 100 this year. Burnett and special surprise guest performers from the Opry will be honored during the 41st annual Symphony Ball on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.
Presented annually by the Nashville Symphony since 1986, the Harmony Award recognizes individuals who exemplify the harmonious spirit of Nashville’s music community.
“Our 2025 Harmony Award honorees bring the culture and spirit of Nashville to audiences around the world,” said Symphony Ball co-chairs Grace Awh and Sarah Ingram. “T Bone Burnett put Nashville musicians on the silver screen with the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, and in our living rooms with the TV series Nashville. The Grand Ole Opry has been the country’s premier country music radio showcase for 100 years. Our honorees keep country music and Nashville in Americans’ hearts and imaginations for many decades. We are thrilled to recognize T Bone Burnett and the Opry with this well-deserved honor.”
“With a career spanning more than five decades, T Bone Burnett has left an indelible mark on the music and entertainment industries through his exceptional work as an artist, performer, producer, and tireless supporter of artists’ rights,” said Nashville Symphony CEO and President Alan D. Valentine. “His work in film and television has helped elevate many deserving Nashville artists on the national and international stage, and we are honored to recognize his contributions.
“The Grand Ole Opry is Nashville’s best-known and longest-running cultural institution,” Valentine continued. “Every Opry broadcast brings together traditional country favorites and contemporary superstars. That resonates with the mission of the Nashville Symphony to present the full range of instrumental musical expression, from classical standards to avant-garde new works to contemporary pops concerts. We salute all the members of the Opry as they celebrate their 100th anniversary.”
Burnett is a Grammy- and Oscar-winning musical tastemaker with deep Nashville roots. With 50 years of experience in music and entertainment, he has an unparalleled reputation as an innovative artist, songwriter, producer, performer, film and concert producer, record company owner and artists’ advocate. His extensive and successful film work has included multiple collaborations with filmmakers the Coen Brothers, notably producing the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which helped bring Nashville artists and traditional roots music to the world’s attention. His musical vision has inspired some of our most illustrious musicians, including, most recently, producing Ringo Starr’s country album Look Up.
“Music has been used since the beginning of time to teach everything — language, mathematics, geography, history, ethics,” said Burnett. “I am most happy and grateful to take part in the crucial work that the Symphony Ball and the Nashville Symphony do in unlocking the language beneath language — the universal language.”
The Grand Ole Opry is the longtime home of country music where artists and fans gather, in person and virtually, to celebrate and be part of the country’s past, present and future. Founded in Nashville in 1925 and today the longest-running live broadcast show in the world, the Opry strengthens its roots by constantly evolving. Opry members are country music’s most emblematic artists, and the show regularly showcases top new talent and rising stars.
“For 100 years, the Opry has been about sharing the story of country music and the people who make it,” said Dan Rogers, Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of the Grand Ole Opry. “Being recognized by the Nashville Symphony and sharing this honor with T Bone Burnett is a real highlight in this milestone year. It’s a nod to every performer, musician, and fan who’s been part of the Opry family.”
The Symphony Ball is Nashville’s premier winter social event and one of the Nashville Symphony’s annual signature fundraisers. Since its inception in 1985, the Ball has raised more than $15 million for the Symphony, sustaining the organization’s mission of inspiring and engaging an evolving and growing community with extraordinary live orchestral music experiences.
Past recipients of the Harmony Award include Randy Travis, John Esposito, Kix Brooks, Lady A, Maren Morris, Keb’ Mo’, Kelsea Ballerini, Toby Keith, Steven Tyler, Béla Fleck, Miranda Lambert, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Amy Grant, LeAnn Rimes, Michael W. Smith, Mike and Linda Curb, Lyle Lovett, Steve Winwood, Vince Gill, Wynonna and Naomi Judd, Chet Atkins, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and Marty Stuart.
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