 |
Oakland Civic Orchestra "In the Heart of Oakland and For the Heart of Oakland" Martha Stoddard, Artistic Director and Conductor ococonductor@yahoo.com |
Oakland Civic Orchestra (OCO) celebrates its 26th season in 2017-2018. The orchestra was founded in 1992 by Enric Zappa through the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Oakland Office of Parks and Recreation. Martha Stoddard was appointed as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor in 1997. A thriving community orchestra, OCO brings together musicians of all ages and backgrounds from throughout the Bay Area, to share in the joy and magic of music-making. The orchestra maintains a roster of 50 - 65 players who perform high quality, free, and accessible afternoon concerts in the beautiful lakeside setting of Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland. Our programming ranges from presenting beloved symphonic repertoire to showcasing emerging and established talents of local performers and composers. Offering free and accessible concerts to all is a major part of our mission. We are particularly happy to welcome young children to orchestra concerts in a kid-friendly and comfortable environment with floor seating available. OCO also regularly extends solo opportunities to student musicians, enjoys collaborations with area choral ensembles, and recently served as the pit orchestra for a youth production of Les Miserables. Oakland Civic Orchestra is supported by the City Of Oakland, by patron donations, and through membership fees. Our fiscal sponsor is the Oakland Parks and Recreations Foundation. |
Please support OCO! The Bay Area is a wonderful place, but it can be an expensive place for the arts to flourish. OCO is facing a significant rise in costs next season. Please help us, if you can, to continue providing free concerts in Oakland! We accept donations in many forms including cash, check, and on our new Go Fund Me page at: https://www.gofundme.com/oakland-civic-orchestra The Oakland Civic Orchestra is grateful for your support and generosity! | ||
Concert dates
- Please visit our "Upcoming Concerts" page for additional details.
October 28, 2018 Sibelius in Italy February 24, 2019 Celebrating Black History Month April 14, 2019 Joint concert with Holy Names Orchestra at HNU June 2, 2019 |
 |
| Semi-Finalist! The Oakland Civic Orchestra is proud to announce that we were named a semi-finalist for the Ernst Bacon Award for our performance of Martha Stoddard's Gait Changes. This award honors outstanding performances of American music by community, youth and professional ensembles. Our submission is unique in that our conductor is also the composer! Read about it here: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2016/09/ernst-bacon-award-semi-finalists-2016.html | Making a tax-deductible donation of any amount to the Oakland Civic Orchestra is as easy as writing a check! Checks should be made payable to: Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation (be sure to memo: Oakland Civic Orchestra) and mail to P.O. Box 13267, Oakland CA 94661 Credit card payments can be made to the foundation using your MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card: Please note this link does not provide you with the option of designating the orchestra as the recipient.
|