Kent Nagano to Return to Berkeley Symphony Podium for Season Opener
The concert INHERITANCE will take place at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland.
Berkeley Symphony will open its 2026–27 season with Inheritance on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 4 p.m., marking the return of Music Director Laureate Kent Nagano to the orchestra for the first time since 2009. Held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (10 10th St, Oakland, CA 94607), the season-opening concert brings together works by Felix Mendelssohn with the world premiere of Vater unser by Argentine composer Alex Nante, a work Nante has dedicated to Berkeley Symphony and Nagano.
Inheritance opens with Mendelssohn's The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave), followed by the premiere of Vater unser. Pianist Mari Kodama then joins the orchestra for Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1. The program concludes with Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, “Reformation,” whose finale is built on the chorale 'Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,' the same melody that inspired Nante's 2025 orchestral work Ein feste Burg.
“In Vater unser, Bach's melodies become a point of departure for an unbound process of orchestral amplification and harmonic elaboration,” said Nante. “One of my main interests as a composer is the evocation of light in sound, whether in meditative or ecstatic atmospheres.” Nante began his series of Bach-inspired works at Nagano's encouragement, as the composer and conductor have collaborated frequently in recent years.
Nagano led Berkeley Symphony for 31 years, from 1978 to 2009, shaping the orchestra into an internationally recognized ensemble known for adventurous programming and commitment to living composers. His return to the podium reunites Nagano with an orchestra whose artistic identity he helped define for more than three decades.
“As Berkeley Symphony looks toward its future, it is especially meaningful to welcome Kent Nagano back to the orchestra he helped shape,” said Berkeley Symphony Executive Director Marion Atherton. “Kent remains a wonderful friend and champion of Berkeley Symphony, and we're delighted to have him with us for this season opener. His return connects us to the orchestra's history while reminding us that an inheritance is not simply something to preserve – it's a foundation to build on as we imagine our future.”
Berkeley Symphony's 2026-27 season features three Mainstage Concerts and two Chamber Concerts and includes two premieres. The next Mainstage Concert features Berkeley-born composer Gabriella Smith's Desert Ecology, a response to the realities of climate change, on February 27 and 28, 2027. Following orchestra tradition, living artists make up over half of the season's composers.
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