Kedrick Armstrong Joins Kirshbaum Associates for Worldwide Representation

"[Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5] was wrenching in its anguish but also punchy and mighty." –San Francisco Classical Voice

Named one of The Washington Post’s “22 for ’22: Composers and Performers to Watch,” Kedrick Armstrong was selected as the new Music Director of the Oakland Symphony in 2024, becoming the 9th Music Director in the orchestra’s almost 100-year history. He is also the Creative Partner and Principal Conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony. 

Kedrick's recent highlights include debuting at the Lyric Opera of Chicago to premiere a new opera, The Factotum, by Will Liverman and K Rico. He also appeared at the Opera Theater of St. Louis as one of the festival’s assistant/cover conductors (Tosca, Susannah). Guest conducting engagements have included a SummerStage and family concert with the Oakland Symphony, DePaul Opera Theater (Candide), and Chicago Opera Theater (Matthew Recio’s The Puppy Episode). He has also served as assistant conductor for Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride at Chicago Opera Theater and music director for Monteverdi’s L’Orfero with Wheaton College’s Opera Mainstage. This season, he leads members of the Chicago Symphony in Daniel Bernard Roumain's Voodoo Violin Concerto No. 1. 

Kedrick uses his voice and platform to advocate for more inclusion of minority voices in the performance and publication of classical music and for the preservation and recognition of underrecognized composers of color in earlier eras. This advocacy has led to speaking engagements and a research fellowship with the American Music Research Center (University of Colorado-Boulder) studying Black female composers within the Helen Walker-Hill Collection. He has spent several seasons as the music mentor/supervisor for “EmpowerYouth! Igniting Creativity through the Arts,” a unique collaboration with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Urban League. He also enjoyed working with REACH*TEACH*PLAY at the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative, and Chicago Sinfonietta’s Audience Matters.

Watch
Kedrick Armstrong Conducts the World Premiere of
Irene Britton Smith's Sinfonietta