Tonight is a night we have long awaited. We all collectively welcome to the podium Kedrick Armstrong for his inaugural concert as Music Director.

The last time I wrote one of these columns with a Music Director on the podium was on February 22, 2020. That was four-and-a-half very long years ago. The whispers of a pandemic had grown to a loud warning and then to a shutdown within two weeks. Just a year later we lost Michael Morgan. Then began a long, protracted search to find a Music Director; one attuned to our values, who could lead the Oakland Symphony into a new era of promise. Tonight, we begin to experience that promise together here at The Paramount.

Without your loyalty and love for the Oakland Symphony these years would have been nearly impossible. Tonight, finally, we celebrate. I can’t imagine an audience I’d rather be a part of for this glorious moment.

Warmly,

Dr. Mieko Hatano,
Chief Executive Officer

If one can dare to dream, one will believe dreams come true.

When I began playing music, I dreamed of conducting. When I conducted, I dreamed of having an orchestra. And when I dreamed of an orchestra, the Oakland Symphony was the orchestra I dreamed of.

So tonight, I humbly stand on this podium and on the shoulders of those who have stood here before me. I am about to lead my first concert as the Music Director of an orchestra I have long held as my ideal – for its music making, for its singular commitment to its community, and for the unique audiences that gather here at The Paramount for compelling, shared musical experiences.

We will experience so much together this season and in seasons to come. The future of the Oakland Symphony is ours – if we can dare to dream.

Sincerely,

Kedrick Armstrong,
Music Director

Kedrick Armstrong Inaugural 
Inextinguishable Oakland!

Friday, October 18, 2024  8 pm
Paramount Theatre, Oakland

Kedrick Armstrong, Conductor

The 2024-2025 Season of Oakland Symphony is generously funded in part by the East Bay Music Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation; the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; and supported by the Oakland City Council and funded by the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program.