The SF Chronicle and Washington Post have reported that Gateways Music Festival Music Director and Conductor Michael Morgan died Friday at the age of 63. Morgan was also the longtime music director of the Oakland Symphony.
A number of people in the classical music world and especially those who are part of the Gateways Music Festival are remembering Michael Morgan. WXXI News Director Randy Gorbman shares some of response to Morgan’s life and legacy.Randy Gorbman files this report which includes comments from Kearstin Piper Brown, Chair of the Gateways Music Festival
The world-renowned conductor, mentor, and advocate for music education had been Music Director of the Gateways Music Festival since 1993, leading programs that embodied the festival's mission to connect and support professional classical musicians of African descent and enlighten and inspire communities through the power of performance.
Gateways President and Artistic Director Lee Koonce said that Morgan helped to create the supportive environment at Gateways: “This festival that creates a safe and affirming and artistically invigorating home for Black classical musicians. Michael believed in that mission because he had lived that same experience throughout his own life.”Gateways Music Festival Artistic Director and President Lee Koonce speaks about Michael Morgan's approach to leadership
The Gateways Music Festival makes its debut at Carnegie Hall next April and Koonce says they will go forward with that concert in the way Morgan would have wanted them to do, and that Carnegie Hall is "committed to showcasing the very first all-Black classical symphony orchestra that they’ve ever featured in their 130 years."
In a post on Facebook Friday night, the festival paid tribute to Morgan, writing: "Words are insufficient to express our sorrow over the loss of our beloved Michael Morgan...We are forever grateful for your dedication to Gateways' mission, your unwavering commitment to artistic excellence, your honesty and your brilliant sense of humor." The wide-ranging impact of Michael Morgan's musical work
Read the Gateways Music Festival tribute.
You can hear Michael Morgan conducting the Gateways Festival Orchestra and speaking with WXXI Music Director Julia Figueras about his work in the Gateways Festival Orchestra's 2017 apperance on Backstage Pass. The most recent Gateways festival was held virtually, featured here on WXXI's Arts inFocus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia875lSRrxs
This story was updated with more details on Monday August 23, 2021.
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