Many Musics of America

Kedrick Armstrong

Praised by the Chicago Tribune for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself,” Kedrick Armstrong enjoys a wide range of conducting, from early music to premiering new works. This past season, he returned to the Knox-Galesburg Symphony and debuted with the DePaul Opera Theater, conducting Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. In 2022-23, Kedrick debuts with the Oakland Symphony and Lyric Opera of Chicago to premiere The Factotum by Will Liverman and K Rico. Previous conducting engagements have included Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Sinfonietta, and Wheaton College OperaMainstage. Kedrick uses his voice as a Black conductor to advocate for classical music’s performance, publication, and preservation of minority voices. This advocacy and research have led to various speaking engagements and his current appointment as the Porter Research Fellow with the University of Colorado-Boulder’s American Music Research Center, where he’s also pursuing an M.M. in Orchestral Conducting.