Our conductors 1991 - present
The history of our leadership

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Martha Stoddard
​ARTISTIC director AND PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR
Martha Stoddard (Marty) 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 27th season as Music Director in August 2024.  Praised for her clarity, generosity and vision, she has guided the orchestra through a major transformation and continues to strive for artistic excellence and growth.  Originally trained as a flutist, she is principal flute for the Handel Opera Project and Piedmont Chamber Players.

​In November, 2024, Marty will appear as guest conductor for Verdi’s La Traviata for Verismo Opera  in Vallejo.  She also leads the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, now in their seventh season and is a frequent guest conductor of the Awesome Orchestra. Previous conducting posts include the Community Women’s Orchestra, Holy Names University Community Orchestra, San Francisco Composers’ Chamber Orchestra, and Enriching Lives Through Music.  Marty also held the position of Program Director for the John Adams Young Composers Program at the Crowden Music Center.  She was the Director of Instrumental Music at Lick-Wilmerding High School from 1991 - 2021, serving as Performing Arts Department Chair and JV Tennis Coach for several years.  She was selected as a conducting fellow in professional workshops in Los Angeles in 2023, and at the Pacific Northwest Conducting Institute in 2023 and 2024.
An award-winning composer and conductor, Marty is a strong advocate for living and women composers, having conducted many contemporary works, premieres and commissions.  In 2019 she 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. 

Recent performances include premieres by Alexis Alrich, Jessica Krash, Monica Chew and Niko Umar Durr as well as works by Naomi Dodd, Germaine Tailleferre, Grace Williams, Florence Price and Louise Farrenc.

ANDREW O'DONNELL
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Andrew O’Donnell is a young conductor based in the East Bay. He previously served as Principal Clarinet of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and is currently Lecturer of Clarinet at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to relocating to the Bay Area, Andrew obtained degrees in Clarinet Performance from the Juilliard School and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and frequently performed with the San Antonio and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. While attending Rice University, he was awarded the prestigious Presser Graduate Music Award. As a clarinetist, Andrew has performed under notable conductors including Alan Gilbert, Gianandrea Noseda, Vladimir Jurowski, and Michael Tilson Thomas, and has collaborated with pianist Emanuel Ax. An avid proponent of new music, Andrew has performed dozens of world premieres and has commissioned works by living composers for performances in Houston and New York City. Andrew is thrilled to be working with the Oakland Civic Orchestra, under the guidance of music director Martha Stoddard, alongside this fabulous group of musicians!
Assistant and Associate Conductor History