Just three weeks ago, we welcomed Kedrick Armstrong to this podium.    For subscribers who were there, the energy was unmatched even by Oakland Symphony standards.  Critics, too, have been raving.   

“A striking debut, promising an exciting new era for the symphony… “ ~ Leoni Day / The Daily Californian (Berkeley)

“In Kedrick Armstrong, the Oakland Symphony has found a musician who appears to be a perfect fit.   A superb conductor who…led an unflagging performance that lifted the spirit.  It was exhilarating…” ~ Michael Zwiebach / San Francisco Classical Voice

“Armstrong and the orchestra were in glorious accord…With more performances like this one, the lights will shine in bright affirmation…” ~ Steven Winn / San Francisco Chronicle

And so tonight, the second concert of Kedrick Armstrong and the Oakland Symphony’s inaugural season, showcases the glorious sound of the Oakland Symphony Chorus in Carl Orff’s ecstatic  Carmina Burana.  Also, two works by Shawn Okpebholo, Zoom! and Two Black Churches.  

Shawn is one of the boldest musical voices of the younger generation.   Tonight’s performances are being recorded for commercial release, the beginning of an Oakland Symphony initiative to record works by all of America’s “Blacknificent Seven” composers.   

Please be mindful of the microphones.  Any extraneous noise will affect tonight’s recording.  

I look forward to welcoming you back here to The Paramount on Sunday, December 15 at 4pm for Kedrick’s very first “Let Us Break Bread Together,” this year paying tribute to Donna Summer and the legends of Disco.   The celebrations continue!  

Warmly,

Dr. Mieko Hatano,
Chief Executive Officer

Two Black Churches + Carmina Burana

Friday, November 8, 2024 8 - 10 pm
Paramount Theatre, Oakland

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.