Kitt Wakeley speaks about his children and how they’re miracles in his life
Kitt Wakeley, a composer, songwriter and music producer who was recently nominated for a Grammy, speaks about the miracles in his life: His children
Oklahoman
To make his latest album, Oklahoma musician Kitt Wakeley explored big emotions like disbelief, confusion and hope.
Going into this year’s Grammy Awards, he feels even more big emotions — excitement, gratitude and, again, hope — that haven’t faded even after getting nominated for and winning multiple golden gramophones over the past few years.
“It never gets old. … It’s humbling. I just don’t take it for granted — and I’m not going expecting anything,” Wakeley told The Oklahoman before flying to Los Angeles for the Grammy Week festivities.
“I’m blessed to win. … When you don’t win, you’re just at peace. You’re like, ‘OK, well, all right, let’s do this again.'”
Already a two-time Grammy winner, the Edmond composer, musician and producer is competing again in the best classical compendium category with “Seven Seasons,” his latest release as a recording artist, at the 68th annual Grammy Awards, which are Sunday, Feb. 1.
But five other projects that Wakeley worked on as a producer also are nominated this year at the music industry’s top awards show.
“Obviously, the most important to me was ‘Seven Seasons.’ But all of my projects are ones that I put my heart and soul into; I put my money into; I put my time and 18-hour days into. … Yes, it’s the artist, and it’s their magic. But you put so much effort into it, it’s your project, too,” he said.
“So, six nominations will probably never happen again in my life. I think my son went to school and said, ‘You know, Bad Bunny got six nominations; so did my dad. They’re proud. They’re proud kiddos. And, no, that never gets old.”
How does Kitt Wakeley’s new Grammy-nominated album tie into 9/11 and the OKC bombing?
A Holdenville native, Wakeley already is a two-time Grammy winner, scoring his first golden gramophone in the best classical compendium category for “An Adoption Story” in 2023.
The poignant and personal project chronicles through music Wakeley’s childhood experiences in the foster care system, particularly his separation from his half-sister, Tasha Henderson; his adoption into a loving family; his reunion with Tasha decades later; and the decision he made with his wife, Melissa, to add to their family — including the four grown children between them — by adopting a trio of young siblings to keep them from being separated.
“I love that story, but it was time to put that story to rest. So, I was trying to think of something that … instead of me, I wanted the audience to identify with their own life experiences,” Wakeley said. “We’ve all been through tragedy and trauma.”
In creating his latest album, which he gave the stylized title “Se7en Seasons,” he talked to more than 40 people who had experienced life-changing tragedies, including his spouse.
“Four or five days before the Grammys a couple of years ago, our son had lost his life … and I’ll just never forget my wife on her knees, uncontrollably crying,” Wakeley said, adding that they came back to Oklahoma immediately after the 2023 Grammys ceremony to prepare for the funeral.
“So, I just started doing interviews with people (who survived) from the OKC bombing, 9/11, people who lost their homes in tornadoes or fires, people who had been through a traumatic divorce, lost their loved one in COVID or lost their loved one in a drunk driving accident.”
Through those conversations, Wakeley pinpointed seven seasons people go through after traumatic events.
“There was the day or season of innocence, of ‘I don’t understand, before all this went wrong, we were at the park having a great time,’ or whatever that might be. … And then there’s that day of tragedy,” he said. “Then, you wake up and you think, in that disbelief, ‘Did I really see two planes flying into those two towers?’ or ‘Did I really lose my home yesterday in Palisades fires?’ or whatever that might encompass. So, then there’s always this confusion.”
Akin to the five stages of grief, he identified the seven seasons as innocence, tragedy, disbelief, confusion, why, reflection and hope.
“What we realized during these interviews is not only were these same seven topics coming up within someone’s journey with trauma, we realized you can always ask and get an answer to how and when and where and what. But the answer that never gets resolved is why,” Wakeley said. “So, you go through reflection, and then you go through hope. We all cross that threshold of, ‘It’s going to be OK.'”
Released in August, his “Se7en Seasons” album features a musical work for each season and culminates in “Reprise: Message of Hope,” with vocals by spoken-word poet Sekou Andrews.
What other Grammy-nominated projects did Oklahoman Kitt Wakeley work on?
Wakeley is nominated as the composer and producer of his 2025 album, alongside his fellow producers Jeff Fair and Starr Parodi; conductor Nicholas Dodd; and featured artists Parodi (on piano), Janai Brugger (vocals), Isolde Fair (violin) and MB Gordy (percussion).
Violinist Lili Haydn, trumpeter Wayne Bergeron and the University of Oklahoma’s Men’s Glee and Vox Lyrica choirs also performed on “Se7en Seasons.”
Plus, Wakeley reunited on the project with Oklahoma City-based engineers Patrick Conlon and Christina Giacona.
“The man works harder than anyone else I know,” said Giacona, who contributed to three other 2026 Grammy-nominated projects besides Wakeley’s “Se7en Seasons.”
Her partner credited Wakeley with not only helping more Sooner State music professionals get work on Grammy-caliber projects but also to become Grammy voters.
“There’s so much talent in Oklahoma,” Conlon said. “He and Christina and I have been kind of thick as thieves about trying to get them all part of the (Recording) Academy.
As a producer, Wakeley had three divergent albums all nominated for 2025 Grammys, with Matt B’s “ALKEBULAN II” winning for best global music album.
Similarly, he produced five other projects besides his “Se7en Seasons” that are among the 2026 Grammy nominees:
- “Alike – My Mother’s Dream,” by Allison Charney, which is nominated for best classical solo vocal album
- “Requiem of Light,” by The Clarion Choir, Steven Fox and former Norman Public schools teacher Patti Drennan, nominated for best choral performance
- “Lullabies For The Brokenhearted,” by Lili Haydn and Paul Cantelon, nominated for best chamber music/small ensemble performance
- “Slavic Sessions,” by Mak Grgić and Mateusz Kowalski, nominated for best chamber music/small ensemble performance
- “Hope Orchestrated,” by Mary Dawood Catlin; Jesús David Medina and Raniero Palm, conductors (Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble), nominated for best classical instrumental solo
“When there’s success, you didn’t win a Grammy. It was a whole team of people,” Wakeley said. “When you can help like-minded people, and you’re all pulling on the same rope … it sure makes it fun.”
When are the 2026 Grammy Awards?
For the second consecutive year, hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar leads all Grammy nominees with nine nods, include record and song of the year for “Luther,” his duet with tour partner SZA, as well as album of the year for “GNX,” his fifth consecutive studio album to earn that nod.
Lamar is followed by Lady Gaga and producers Cirkut and Jack Antonoff with seven nominations and songwriter-turned-artist Leon Thomas, producer/engineer Serban Ghenea, pop princess Sabrina Carpenter and Super Bowl headliner Bad Bunny, who each earned six nods.
The 2026 Grammy Awards will be handed out at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will air live on CBS and Paramount+, with Trevor Noah hosting for the sixth consecutive run as master of ceremonies.
Performers for the star-studded broadcast include Oklahoma native and current nominee Reba McEntire, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, Sabrina Carpenter, Ms. Lauryn Hill, D’Angelo, Post Malone, Slash, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith, Andrew Watt, Justin Bieber, Brandy Clark, Tyler, the Creator, and more.
First-time Grammy nominee Darren Criss will host and perform at the 2026 Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, where most of the Grammys will be awarded ahead of the primetime telecast. The event will be live-streamed at 2:30 p.m. Sunday from the Peacock Theater in L.A. on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.grammy.com.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.oklahoman.com ’
