BARS Pride Concert
Martha Stoddard, conductor
Jimmy Chan, timpani
Bacewicz…………………..Overture
Mahler/ arr. Britten…...…What the Wildflowers Tell Me
Cardona-Ospina………...Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra [US Premiere]
Sibelius…………………….Symphony No 3
Martha Stoddard enjoys a multi-faceted musical career as conductor, composer and flutist. She assumed the leadership of the Oakland Civic Orchestra in 1997 and began her 28th season as Music Director in August 2024. Praised for her clarity, generosity and vision, she continues to guide this 85-piece orchestra to new heights, and has earned accolades and multiple American Prizes in orchestral performance, programming and chamber music. Under her leadership the orchestra also provides conducting opportunities for emerging conductors, many of whom have gone on to enjoy careers on the podium.
Stoddard is also the Music Director of the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra and a popular guest conductor of the Awesome Orchestra. Previous conducting positions include the Community Women’s Orchestra, Holy Names University Community Orchestra, San Francisco Composers’ Chamber Orchestra, and Enriching Lives Through Music. She also held the position of Program Director for the John Adams Young Composers Program at the Crowden Music Center for three years and was Director of Instrumental Music at Lick-Wilmerding High School from 1991 - 2021, where she also served as Performing Arts Department Chair and JV Tennis Coach.
In 2023 and 2024 she was selected as a Conducting Fellow for professional workshops in Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest Conducting Institute. In 2024 she also enjoyed her debut with Verismo Opera in Vallejo, conducting Verdi’s La traviata.
A strong advocate for living and women composers, recent performances include premieres by Alexis Alrich, Jessica Krash, Monica Chew and Niko Umar Durr, as well as seldom heard works by Ruth Gipps, Naomi Dodd, Doreen Carwithen, Germaine Tailleferre, Grace Williams, Florence Price and Louise Farrenc. In 2019 Stoddard brought the Oakland Civic Orchestra into the final round of the Ernst Bacon Prize for the Performance of American Music and in 2020 she was a finalist in the American Prize Competition for Conductors, Community Orchestra Division. Originally trained as a flutist, she continues her freelance performance practice and serves as principal flute for the Handel Opera Project and Piedmont Chamber Players. Her flute music is published by Tetractys in the UK. In her free time she enjoys composing, chamber music and tennis.
Jimmy Chan, originally from Hong Kong, is a versatile solo, chamber, and orchestral percussionist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He regularly performs with prominent ensembles, including the San Francisco Symphony, California Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Marin Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, and Stockton Symphony. Previously, he served as Associate Percussionist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has performed under renowned conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Sir Neville Marriner, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Williams, and Michael Tilson Thomas.
A Marimba One Artist, Chan has performed across three continents on prestigious stages such as Royal Albert Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall. His engagements include performing as a concerto soloist with the Billings Symphony and Colburn Orchestra, as well as being a guest artist at the Bellingham Festival of Music Residency and Stanford University. In chamber music, he serves as percussionist and timpanist with One Found Sound, a conductorless chamber orchestra based in the Bay Area.
Showcasing his versatility in pop and rock music, he collaborated and performed “Don’t Stop Believin’” alongside Neal Schon, co-founder and lead guitarist of Journey.
Chan was recently appointed Percussion Faculty at California State University, East Bay. In addition to his university teaching, he maintains a private studio at the International School of San Francisco and serves as a Teaching Artist with the Oakland Symphony. Through this role, he coaches young musicians in the Oakland School District and the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Chan holds degrees from the Royal College of Music in London, Colburn Conservatory, and San Francisco Conservatory, where he studied under distinguished instructors Sam Walton, Ted Atkatz, Jack Van Geem, and Jacob Nissly.
Jimmy is thrilled to perform with BARS as the soloist in the U.S. premiere of Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra by Juan Sebastián Cardona-Ospina. He strives to convey joy and peace through music, inspiring audiences to appreciate and engage with it
