NSO Pops: Devonté Hynes: Select Classical Works

Grammy®-nominated singer and “polymath musician” (The New York Times) Devonté Hynes is joined by the National Symphony Orchestra as he performs contemporary classical music that confronts the complexities and ambiquities of 21st century identity.

Raised in England, Devonté Hynes started in the punk band Test Icicles before releasing two orchestral acoustic pop records as Lightspeed Champion. Since 2011, Hynes has released four solo albums under the name Blood Orange: Coastal Grooves, Cupid Deluxe, Freetown Sound, and Negro Swan, as well as 2019’s Angel’s Pulse mixtape, all of which have been critically acclaimed.

His songs and albums have explored memory, trauma, depression, and anxiety, as well as the triumphs of vulnerable communities, including people of color and queer and trans communities, and where they intersect.

In addition to his solo work, Hynes has collaborated with pop music superstars including Mariah Carey, A$AP Rocky, Solange, P. Diddy, and many others. In 2018, Hynes was one of four pianists invited to play alongside Phillip Glass at the Kennedy Center, and in 2020, he was nominated for a Grammy® in the category of Best Chamber Music or Small Ensemble Performance for his work with Third Coast Percussion on their album Fields.