New music director named after long search
Oakland Symphony has named a new music director whom it says will offer a dynamic presence on and off the podium and continue the orchestra's legacy of forging deep ties with the community.
Kendrick Armstrong, 29, a Georgetown, South Carolina, native, was selected after a two-year search and assumes the post immediately. He will conduct his first concert as Oakland Symphony music director Oct. 18, when the orchestra kicks off its new season. He has led three concerts with the symphony as a guest conductor.
Armstrong faces the double-barreled challenge of leading an orchestra in the still-unsteady post-pandemic landscape facing performing arts groups of all types, and of replacing the late Michael Morgan, the orchestra's previous music director who died in 2021 after a 30-year tenure. Morgan was a legendary figure in Oakland and beyond, beloved for his conducting skills, his passionate embrace of many music genres and tireless campaign to share the orchestra's music with people in all stages and walks of life.
Orchestra officials said they found someone with similar skills and interests in Armstrong, noting that he will “actively participate in the Oakland Symphony's many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages throughout the Oakland and Bay Area region.”
Armstrong is currently creative partner and principal conductor of the KnoxGalesburg Symphony in Illinois, an acclaimed small orchestra that also heralds community interaction as a primary focus.
Oakland Symphony executive director Dr. Mieko Hatano said the group that oversaw the search for Morgan's replacement “was overwhelmed by Kendrick's scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop. His programming is innovative and reflects his commitment to including underrepresented composers, works and artists, which speaks directly to the symphony's mission.”
“Wherever he goes,” Hatano added, “Kendrick inspires musicians, singers and audiences who are captivated by his presence, energy and openness; his commitment to community and music education for all comes through in everything he does, in everyone he meets. We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”
The three Oakland Symphony concerts that Armstrong helmed as guest conductor from 2022 toearly 2024 reflected his familiarity with a wide array of musical styles, orchestra officials said. The programs included works by Mozart and Shostakovich, as well as by contemporary composer Joan Tower and the world premiere of an Oakland Symphony-commissioned oratorio, “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” by composer Carlos Simon and librettist Dan Harder.
Armstrong also conducted a free Oakland Symphony Family Hype concert in 2023, presented in partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area, which featured a playlist selected by youths fighting serious illnesses, their families and the health officials who were caring for them.
The South Carolina native also is following in the footsteps of Calvin Simmons, who became the first Black conductor of a major orchestra when he was named music director of Oakland Symphony in 1978. Simmons died four years later in a tragic canoe accident in Lake Placid, New York.