Oakland Symphony Music Director Kedrick Armstrong has unbridled enthusiasm as he prepares for the annual “Let Us Break Bread Together” vacation live performance, which on Dec. 15 will fill the Paramount Theatre with sounds as attractive and grand because the venue’s Artwork Deco structure.
Oakland Symphony Music Director Kedrick Armstrong says his private mission is to proceed the spirit of the vacation season all year long in addition to showcase under-represented composers and musicians. (Courtesy Scott Chernis)
“I’ve heard about ‘Break Bread,’ I’ve watched clips, I’ve planned one now, but I’ve never actually been in the room to experience the magic in person,” says Armstrong, who’s in his inaugural season with the symphony.
Among the many artists becoming a member of the orchestra this yr for “Let Us Break Bread Together a Tribute to the Legends of Disco!” are the Oakland Symphony Refrain, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, East Bay Singers, Finest Intentions, Napa Excessive Faculty Chamber Choir and vocalists Tiffany Austin, Maiya Sykes and PHER.
Armstrong, the ninth music director within the symphony’s almost 100-year historical past, follows Michael Morgan, who died in 2021. Chosen unanimously in a two-year search by orchestra officers after a number of visitor appearances, Armstrong, who’s from South Carolina and has labored extensively in Chicago, instructions a large repertoire. An African American conductor, his mission contains showcasing underrepresented composers, works and artists and increasing the orchestra’s neighborhood relationships.
Although disco could seem a shocking factor of a vacation present, Armstrong factors out that an iconic trait of disco is orchestral writing within the songs: “There are sweeping, orchestral lines that are naturally within the music. Take Donna Simmer and ‘Last Dance,’ which was a no-brainer to close the concert. I can sing some of those violin lines by heart. Donna Summer is everything we think of that is brilliant, powerful, resilient and fun about disco.”
The live performance’s visitor vocalists, performing numbers chosen by Armstrong, are singing songs that permit them to shine however that additionally pull “them out of their comfort zone.”
Austin has a voice like a heat hug on a chilly day. Armstrong says, “Tiffany has a sultry, deep, enriched jazz voice. She sings Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive,’ which sits perfectly within her range. She rides the line where there’s comfort, but also the edginess disco requires.”
Sykes is a powerhouse with a voice that reminds Armstrong of brass devices. “It has richness that’s a joy. Having her onstage with the orchestra for ‘Love Sensation’ will be fun. Loleatta Holloway (who sang the song during the disco era) was such a force vocally and performance-wise. I’ll love to see what happens with Maiya at the helm.”
PHER (aka Christopher Turner), singing Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel,” has a soulful voice paying homage to Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross. “We think of Sylvester’s range and in his falsetto when he’d stretch and have bite. Sylvester had that Black church gospel sound and Christopher has all of that in his wheelhouse. To deliver powerfully across such a wide range of the male voice is something he’ll knock out of the park,” Armstrong says.
Disco, Armstrong says, displays the “serendipity” that grew to become his buzzword for the primary yr in Oakland. “The songs are a testament: Songs birthed not just out of fun, but out of life in the sixties and seventies that was so much crisis. Many things we’re experiencing now, we find parallels in the time of disco. These songs are describing that even in chaos, life happens. We need to dance, fall in love, have fun. That’s the sign of our activism, not just marching in the streets. It’s choosing to love and to love life. It feels so right to do this concert at this particular time in our world.”
Armstrong is just not conducting however is thrilled to function Margaret Bonds’ “The Ballad of the Brown King,” a showcase for choirs, on the live performance. He says, “To spotlight another powerhouse among Black female composers is a joy. In sacred classical repertoire—Bach, Handel and others—those works are written through a white lens. I remember growing up looking at paintings of white Jesus with blue eyes. Bonds’ music was the first time I heard a musical match with the cultural Jesus I’d come to know as an adult. How do we tell stories that resonate with Black people and people of color and honestly, with everyone? With absolutely gorgeous music like this.”
Sustaining the seasonal vacation spirit present in sacred and secular (even disco) music is a mission for Armstrong, who says, “… My personal charge is to bring people together, celebrate the legacy of Michael and our symphony, and think about how we use this magic to charge our concerts throughout the season. If we can do this mad dash concert in one day, how can we strategically plant it in touchpoints in our season? It’s not just one supercharge set in December. How do we hold ourselves accountable to the standards set? It’s a tall order, but Oakland is the place to continue asking these questions.”
Oakland Symphony’s “Let Us Break Bread Together a Tribute to the Legends of Disco!” is at 4 p.m. Dec. 15 on the Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $25-$65 at oaklandsymphony.org.
