Meet Guest Conductor Martha Stoddard
Awesöme Orchestra is thrilled to have guest conductor Martha Stoddard join us on the podium to conduct “Jupiter” from The Planets Suite by Gustav Holst on Friday, June 3 for Session 81 at Chabot Space & Science Center! Martha, who also goes by Marty, played flute several times with us in the early days, has been a big supporter over the years, and is a fixture of the Bay Area music scene!
Martha Stoddard (Marty) took the reins of the Oakland Civic Orchestra (OCO) in 1997, and has led the orchestra through a major transformation over the past two decades. Praised for her clarity, generosity, and vision, she continues to guide the orchestra through the unfolding challenges facing our wider community, while continually striving for artistic excellence.
Stoddard is a strong advocate for living composers and has conducted many premieres and commissions in multiple orchestras, most recently featuring works by Jessica Krash and Niko Umar Durr. In celebration of her 25th Season as Artistic Director, OCO has commissioned a new work in her honor from frequent collaborator and internationally recognized composer, Alexis Alrich.
In 2019 she was named a semi-finalist in the American Prize Competition for Conductors, Community Orchestra Division, and advanced as a finalist in July of 2020. Simultaneously she brought the orchestra into the final round of the Ernst Bacon Prize for the Performance of American Music, for their performance of Bruce Reiprich's Lullaby featuring Christina Owens Walton, violin; J.P. Johnson's Harlem Symphony; and her own Waltz for the Fun of It.
After a lengthy search spanning the course of the pandemic, Marty was recently named Conductor of the Holy Names University Community Orchestra and will commence her duties in July 2022. She assumed the role of conductor for the newly-formed Piedmont Chamber Orchestra in 2019, and held the position of Resident Conductor for Enriching Lives Through Music from 2017-2019. From 2012-2014 she served as Program Director for the John Adams Young Composers Program at the Crowden Music Center, and still frequently appears as Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Composers’ Chamber Orchestra, conducting new works by local composers.
Stoddard recently retired from Lick-Wilmerding High School after serving for thirty years as Director of Instrumental Music and the Chair of the Performing Arts and is happily filling up her time with more music and more tennis.