Longtime Oakland Symphony conductor Michael Morgan dies at 63
Morgan served for three decades as conductor and became a prominent name in the Bay Area's classical music scene.
OAKLAND — Michael Morgan, who served for three decades as conductor of the Oakland Symphony, becoming one of the most prominent names in the Bay Area’s classical music scene, died Friday at 63.
A cause of death was not publicly released, though Morgan had been admitted to an Oakland hospital last week for an infection. He had returned to conducting last month for the San Francisco Symphony and Bear Valley Music Festival after a successful kidney transplant surgery in May — the culmination of his battle since 1989 with chronic kidney disease.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the Oakland Symphony remembered Morgan for a decorated career that spanned the country, along with the legacy of leadership and community involvement that he fostered locally after becoming the symphony’s music director and conductor in 1991.
“This is a terribly sad moment for everyone in the Oakland Symphony family. We have lost our guiding father,” Mieko Hatano, the symphony’s executive director, said in the statement. “Michael’s plans and ambitions were set for several seasons to come. He made his Orchestra socially authentic, demanded equality, and he made his Orchestra our orchestra.”
Because of the high-risk nature of his kidney disease, Morgan remained sheltered at home for much of the coronavirus pandemic, but he did help create the online series “Currents” for the San Francisco Symphony, which was broadcast virtually last year.
In January, Morgan curated the “Oakland Salutes” program, an online event that commemorated city native Kamala Harris’ inauguration as vice president through music and other performances by local artists.
Never shy about his progressive values, Morgan championed diverse voices — frequently showcasing international brands of classical music in his programs — and invited such notable personalities as comedian W. Kamau Bell and activist Dolores Huerta to contribute.
Last November, he reflected on a tumultuous 2020 in an interview with this news organization, saying the Black Lives Matter movement had been the “one upside” of the devastating pandemic.
“We’re all at home, so we couldn’t ignore it,” Morgan said at the time. “We’re in front of our TVs. We can’t get away from it. With people not working, they could get out on the street and protest. Racism is not new, it’s just happening at a time when people are focused.”
In addition to his lengthy tenure helming the Oakland Symphony at downtown’s Paramount Theatre, Morgan was the first Black titled conductor of the Chicago Symphony. He also appeared as a guest conductor with the New York City Opera, Washington National Opera and Walnut Creek’s Festival Opera, among others.
“Our entire organization is grieving a profound loss,” Jim Hasler, Oakland Symphony’s board chair, said in the statement.
“Michael’s impact on our community and the national orchestra field cannot be overstated — and he has left us too soon,” Hasler added. “We have been blessed over the past 30 years, as Michael built the foundations of an Oakland Symphony dedicated to diversity, education, artistic collaboration and a celebration of music across genres and cultures.”
Born in Washington, D.C., Morgan first began conducting at 12 years old. He attended Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and spent a summer at the Berkshire Music Center in Massachusetts, according to his biography on the Oakland Symphony website.
Morgan debuted as a conductor in 1982 with the Vienna State Opera, and he was hired as an assistant conductor by the Chicago Symphony four years later.
In his time at the Oakland Symphony, Morgan was known to take risks blending genres in unconventional ways. He treated audiences to renditions of classical compositions from different countries and even invited guest hip-hop artists to perform live at the symphony’s concerts.
“He fashioned a unique, informed artistic profile that attracted one of the most diverse audiences in the nation,” Hatano said in the statement. “His music reflected his beliefs: reverence for the past, attuned to the future, rooted in his adopted home of Oakland. His spirit will always guide the enduring future of the Oakland Symphony.”
Michael Morgan is survived by his mother Mabel Morgan and sister Jacquelyn Morgan, the Oakland Symphony said in a statement. Memorial plans are still being set.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.