FREEVILLE, N.Y. (WENY) -- A Finger Lakes musician took home his first Grammy Award at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this month. 

During the April 3 ceremony, Lonnie Park won the award for “Best New Age Album” for his work as the producer of the album Divine Tides. 

Winning alongside Stewart Copeland, drummer of “The Police,” and environmentalist Grammy winner Ricky Kej for the work as artists, Park could not have been more honored. 

“When you realize the inner workings and the decision from the voters was that this was truly one of the best albums of the year in that category.,” Park said. “The weight it carries…is tremendous. It was a huge honor.” 

With Kej as the main driving force behind the project, Park immediately jumped on as producer considering the two have worked together almost every day for the past eight years. 

 “We toured together; we’ve been to all the continents doing live shows,” he said. “We’ve done countless albums to the point where we decided to do this album.” 

Divine Tides focuses on the idea of “coexistence,” something Park believes is now more prominent than ever. 

“The first thing that comes to mind is human interaction [and] us getting along with each other,” he said. “Of course, with current events right now around that world, that would be our first thought...and we’re not doing a great job of it. So, part of Divine Tides is having us coexist with each other as humans and fellow inhabitants of this planet.” 

He further explained how the idea of coexistence goes beyond our relationship with other humans and living beings. 

“Coexistence is actually everything around us,” he said. “We’re dealing with climate change. We’re dealing with so many elements that are non-human related, and our effect on those things is dramatic. So, learning to coexist not only with other humans, animals and plants, but even inanimate things like water and rocks.” 

While the 64th Annual Grammy Awards was the first time Park won, it was not the first album he had worked on that was nominated for the prestigious award.  

Arun Shenoy’s Rumbadoodle, an album Park was a composer and instrumentalist on, was nominated for “Best Pop Instrumental Album” at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013. 

“The first time was just an absolute shock, but this time I couldn’t feel more honored and feel like one of the gang,” he said. 

Park’s Grammy win feels like a full-circle moment for him, as his small-town Finger Lakes community taught him about coexistence at a young age.  

“I grew up in Freeville, which is one square mile, and it was a small village with not many kids,” he said. “We really learned how to get along no matter what. and a lot of those basic principles of life and treating each other came from Freeville. Small-town living; it’s kind of magical.” 

Growing up in a musically inclined Baptist family, Park never considered making music as a full-time career. 

 “As a kid, I was raised in a home where we had music all the time,” he said. “My mother played piano, my dad played guitar [and] we were always singing. It was just something that was part of [my] life.” 

It wasn't until he was 17 years old that the idea of making music into a professional career came to light. When a high school friend showed him how to write music, a light bulb went off. 

“I just caught the bug right there,” he said. 

Now in his makeshift studio dubbed “The Barn Castle,” Park does it all from the comfort of his Tompkins County home. 

“At the end of the day, I’m from Freeville, and this is where I’m most comfortable,” he said. “This is home.” 

Park is thankful for all of the support he has received from his loved ones, including his wife, Jody.  

“As a musician, I’m quite lucky that my wife has not only been supportive, but [has also] constantly encouraged me to push the envelope...and break down barriers along the way.”