Wisconsin MBA Student Wins Grammy

Febrary 9, 2006

A first-year MBA student at the UW-Madison School of Business has won a Grammy Award. Derek Kwan, an MBA student with the Bolz Center for Arts Administration, won a Grammy in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album.

Kwan won for “Bebo De Cuba” featuring Bebo Valdes (Calle 54 Records), for which he was associate producer. Kwan worked at Jazz at Lincoln Center as associate director for programming and concert operations in New York City for five years before coming to the School of Business.

Another album he was associated with was nominated in the same category. Kwan was co-producer of the album, “Una Noche Inolvidable” featuring the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O'Farrill (Palmetto Records).

Kwan said, “It’s exciting, but it’s not about me; it’s about the artists. I’m just happy to be along for the ride. That’s what I’m hoping to do with my career, to facilitate and provide meaningful opportunities for the artists.”   
  
Kwan is a Los Angeles native who earned his undergraduate degree in political science and music at Duke. In addition to producing live concerts, he gained experience producing records, in which he worked closely with the performing artists, helping them choose their repertoire and selecting the best takes during the mixing process.

Kwan hopes having an MBA in Arts Administration from UW-Madison will help him develop a career as a producer of a wider variety of art performance, including classical music and dance. As part of his studies with the Bolz Center for Arts Administration he is working as the education and outreach coordinator for UW-Madison’s Union Theater.