Berkeley Symphony’s search for a new music director prompted Executive Director Marion Atherton to turn to the orchestra’s longtime maestro Kent Nagano for advice in conversations that proved consequential for the 2026-27 season.
“Not that I expected him to come and conduct the orchestra, but I think the seed was planted, and about six months ago I said, ‘How would you like to come and conduct a concert?’” Atherton recalls. “And he was like, ‘I’m so glad you asked because I’ve been thinking that.’”
Nagano, who led the Berkeley Symphony for 35 years from 1978 to 2009, returns to the podium for “Inheritance,” which is the orchestra’s opening night program on Sunday for its 2026-27 season. The concert at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland includes the world premiere of Alex Nante’s commissioned opus “Vater unser” and three works by Felix Mendelssohn: “The Hebrides” (“Fingal’s Cave”); the Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor with pianist Mari Kodama; and the Symphony No. 5 in D major “Reformation.”
“For over a half century, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra has served as a respected cultural ambassador for the city of Berkeley, reflecting its ideals as well as its important tradition of visionary social, scientific, educational and artistic leadership,” Nagano says. “To help to secure this historic music institution could be thought of as a critical investment into the substance and quality of our dynamic community, whose tradition is perhaps more relevant in today’s 21st century than ever before.”
Nagano, who is Berkeley Symphony’s music director laureate, returns to conduct the orchestra after its fourth music director, Joseph Young, stepped down at the end of the 2024-25 season. But the orchestra has been stamped with Nagano’s DNA for a long time, as Atherton says he was instrumental in shaping it into an ensemble renowned for adventurous programming and a commitment to living composers.
“He was absolutely central to forming that identity,” Atherton says. “He found that Berkeley is a place where people are curious and interested in adventurous programming of all sorts. So he was probably motivated not only by his own musical interests but by responding to the curiosity of the community.”
Nagano curated “Inheritance” to show a through line from Bach and Mendelssohn to the present with Alex Nante — an example of the living artists who make up over half of the season’s composers. But Atherton says the concert’s name acquired another meaning.
“We chose the the name of the concert based on that concept, but after thinking about the musical inheritance I realized that it’s the same for us as an organization — by having Kent back to the podium and how to bring his legacy forward into the future,” she explains.
The Argentinean Nante’s “Vater unser” (Our Father from the German Lord’s Prayer) is second on the program after “The Hebrides.” Nante’s new work is one of a series of Bach-inspired pieces he composed at Nagano’s encouragement, as he and the conductor have collaborated several times in recent years. The opus represents the first work by Nante that Berkeley Symphony has ever performed.
“One of his main interests as a composer is to evoke light in sound, so that’s something he’s striving for in this piece,” Atherton says of Nante. “The series he’s doing is inspired by different Bach chorales. The previous piece was more rooted in the literal chorale, but in this work he has taken the chorale as a point of departure.”
Following “Vater unser,” Kodama, who is Nagano’s wife, will perform a solo for Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1. She has performed with Nagano several times over the years, most recently in 2024 in Germany, but the last time the couple were on the same Berkeley Symphony program was 22 years ago.
“I think Berkeley Symphony attendees can expect that it’s going to be an exciting and dynamic collaboration,” Atherton says.
“Inheritance” also marks the first time Berkeley Symphony is performing at the newly renovated Kaiser Center.
“It’s a beautiful theater and we’re excited about it, but it’s a bit of a maiden voyage,” Atherton says. “I think it’s going to go really well, the acoustics seem like they are going to be great and it’s not too often that a new theater or renovated one comes online.”
“Inheritance” is one of three main-stage concerts for Berkeley Symphony’s 2026-27 season. The next main-stage concert is happening Feb. 27-28, 2027, featuring the Berkeley-born composer Gabriella Smith’s “Desert Ecology,” her response to the realities of climate change.
Nagano feels that the orchestra’s programs this season are a vital, upbeat expression of its connection with Berkeley.
“Throughout centuries, history has established that sharing the experience of great music and the arts as a community opens the doorway to a future of hope and of optimism,” he says.
Berkeley Symphony presents “Inheritance” 4 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 10th St., Oakland. Tickets are $20-$80 (discounts for seniors and students with ID) at 510-841-2800 or berkeleysymphony.org
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