“The cycle of sorry and the Flattened muscle of the forgiven / The forgotten democracy and the country we leave to our children...

So begins Forgiveness.  Words written and spoken by Marc Bamuthi Joseph.  Music by Daniel Bernard Roumain.  Tonight, the Oakland Symphony and Music Director Kedrick Armstrong present the West Coast premiere of this spoken word concerto with orchestra.    

The concert begins with the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra performing Gabriela Lena Frank’s Latin American Dances, side-by-side with the Oakland Symphony.    And it concludes with Mussorgsky’s virtuosic Pictures at an Exhibition in Maurice Ravel’s vivid orchestration – a showcase for the virtuosity of the Oakland Symphony.  

Concerts like this one are why so many subscribe to the Oakland Symphony: the discovery of the new, the re-connection to the classic, and the whole of it authentically Oakland.   If you are a subscriber and haven’t renewed a reminder that tonight is your renewal deadline.  You may renew during intermission in the lobby.  If you didn’t bring your renewal form, don’t worry.  There’s a copy here waiting for you.   

And if you would like to join the growing subscriber family, this is the moment.  New subscribers can begin their season when Kedrick Armstrong conducts Beethoven’s Ninth on June 13.  The performance is FREE when you subscribe.   And you may subscribe tonight in the lobby during intermission.

Kedrick’s first season on the podium has been transformative for musicians and audiences alike.  For his next concert on May 16, we repeat Paul Robeson: Here I Stand by Carlos Simon and Dan Harder, which the Orchestra and Kedrick will record for future release.   Brahms’ lyrical Second Symphony is also on the program.

I look forward to welcoming you back in May, and tonight to our collective connection to Forgiveness.    

Warmly,
Dr. Mieko Hatano
Chief Executive Officer

Oakland Symphony presents
Forgiveness + Pictures at an Exhibition
Friday, March 28, 2025  8pm
Paramount Theatre, Oakland

Kedrick Armstrong, conductor
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, poet & speaker
Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra

* Artist in Residence, Season 2024-2025 & 2025-2026

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.