Finally! Verdi’s awe-inspiring Requiem has been an ambition of the Oakland Symphony and Chorus since before the pandemic. Long-time subscribers may even recall that it was scheduled to close the eventually shuttered 2021-22 season.
The wait is over. Tonight, Kedrick Armstrong brings Verdi’s thundering masterwork to us. It is a work he has cherished since he first encountered as a youth on YouTube. “I was taken aback and sucked into this piece. 90 minutes felt like five minutes, truly transcendent. A human experience of emotion and music.”
And, of course, to give it our uniquely Oakland context, Kedrick has asked Oakland’s own Cava Menzies to write a brief, introductory piece, her Suite for Humanity. Tonight’s performance is the world premiere.
Cava Menzies spoke with Kedrick about it: “I wanted to musically express the complexity of what's happening. There's a lot of noise, there's a lot of voices. Oftentimes, I feel like there are not words to capture the magnitude of what's going on. And so, I'm extremely grateful to have music as a tool to express that, that which is intangible in my eyes. I've been thinking so much about music and its ability to transcend words and language. I think the more voices that we get in a conversation around what we're collectively experiencing as human beings empowers us. Even if it's just wading through our grief together or sitting side by side with each other. There's power in community with that.”
So, this will be an evening with the Verdi Requiem like no other – once and only once. A never to be repeated experience that we all will share in this magnificent space.
I want to remind you all about “Let Us Break Bread Together” – the 2025 edition happening here on Sunday, December 14 at 4:00pm and paying tribute to Whitney Houston. Tickets are still available but are selling briskly. If you haven’t purchased yours yet, you’ll want to act soon. It’s Oakland’s favorite holiday musical tradition, and I look forward to welcoming you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mieko Hatano
Chief Executive Officer
VERDI’S REQUIEM
Friday, November 14, 2025 8pm
Paramount Theatre, Oakland
Tiffany Townsend, Soprano
Raehann Bryce-Davis, Mezzo-soprano
Robert Stahley, Tenor
Reginald Smith Jr., Baritone
Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Guest Chorus Conductor
Oakland Symphony Chorus
CAVA MENZIES Suite for Humanity
Composed by Cava Menzies; Text by Paul Lawrence Dunbar
World Premiere – Oakland Symphony Commission
GIUSEPPE VERDI Requiem
1. Requiem
Introit
Kyrie
2. Dies irae
Dies irae
Tuba mirum
Mors stupebit
Liber scriptus
Quid sum miser
Rex tremendae
Recordare
Ingemisco
Confutatis maledictis
Lacrymosa
3. Offertory
4. Sanctus
5. Agnus Dei
6. Lux aeterna
7. Libera me
Season Presenting Sponsor: Bell Investment Advisors
Season Wine Sponsor: Retzlaff Vineyards
The 2025-2026 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.
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VIOLIN 1 VIOLIN 2 VIOLA CELLO BASS FLUTE | PICCOLO OBOE BASSOON HORN TRUMPET TROMBONE BASS TROMBONE TUBA TIMPANI PERCUSSION HARP |
SOPRANOS | ALTOS * Section Leaders |
