WMPI presents a panel conversation on career pathways in music with three leading musicians, innovators, and entrepreneurs in the field, Armando Castellano, Adrianna Mateo, and Antoine Clark.
Armando Castellano is a professional French horn player, arts advocate and bilingual teaching artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a professional musician, he is active internationally as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral performer. Armando is the founder and artistic director of Quinteto Latino, a national advocacy organization whose mission is to “disrupt racial and economic disparities within the classical music field”. He actively advocates on behalf of musicians of color in the U.S. through direct mentorship as well as leading QL’s fellows programming. His equity work is far reaching and tireless, speaking nationally on issues impacting BIPOC classical musicians, giving workshops on culturally relevant arts education and cultural expression in the arts, and consulting on organization diversity. He currently sits on several boards nationally, including as a founding board member and most recent past board chair of the Donors of Color Network. Armando recently sunsetted his family foundation after more than 2 decades of giving to Latino lead nonprofits in Santa Clara County and advocating nationally on Latino issues in Philanthropy.
Adrianna Mateo cuts a singular profile across the music industry as a rare triple-threat artist: solo violinist, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is known for her depth, nuance, and appeal to both commercial and classical audiences. She has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, opened for Alicia Keys, concertmastered on Broadway, sung her songs for more than 40,000 people at MCU Park, and acted onstage at the Met Opera and on camera in HBO's "Succession."
Her most recent projects include performing as a featured solo violinist to a sold-out Carnegie Hall with conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya & the Refugee Orchestra Project (for Amjad Ali Khan, India at 75 Celebration), as the solo violinist with the Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus in her West Coast debut (staged choral opera premiere of "Tomorrow's Memories" by composer Matthew Welch); as the solo violinist in the rock band for the Broadway-bound musical, "A Walk on the Moon" (music team includes AnnMarie Milazzo and Andy Einhorn), and as a solo violinist with Met Opera assistant conductor Jonathan Cameron Kelly (Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No. 2); both acting in and music-directing "Specially Processed American Me," which was featured in the New York Times and sold out its theater five times in a row (dir: Karim Muasher and Jaime Sunwoo); and performing original songs at the Dramatists Guild Foundation's new location opening (lineup included Andrew Lippa and Max Vernon) and at the Signature Theatre through Musical Theatre Factory.
Elegant and edgy, Adrianna's aura lends itself to a dizzying array of projects: she has premiered a violin concerto written for her backed by a fifty-piece orchestra (composer, Mitchell McCarthy), made her Broadway debut in "Tootsie," performed her original songs at MCU Park for more than 40,000 people (Brooklyn Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk), acted in HBO's "Succession," played solo violin on CNN and at the United Nations General Assembly (Refugee Orchestra Project), sung on MTV, and performed her music with a full live band at Joe's Pub (Musical Theater Factory's People of Color Roundtable). She has also opened solo for Alicia Keys at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, performed originals at Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room, and both co-produced and tracked her soon-to-be-released single “Skin Hunger” at Jungle City Studios. Her music, supported by composer Nico Muhly and praised by Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum producer Bob Power, is announced first via her newsletter and is available on all major online music distributors.
Charismatic both on camera and onstage, Adrianna regularly films and performs throughout - and beyond - her hometown, New York City. She has sung on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, improvised violin at the Times Center for tech blog En gadget, performed on stage for multiple runs at the Metropolitan Opera (actress, international HD broadcast with Anna Netrebko) and Metropolitan Museum of Art (music director-curator and solo violinist), performed at the Bang on a Can Summer Marathon (solo violin - that year's only solo artist on a lineup that included Meredith Monk), recorded for Philip Glass, and performed on tour internationally (Southeast Asia, South Africa, Europe, North America), earning her acclaim from both the New York Times and Time Out New York.
Adrianna has more than ten years of teaching and conducting experience. A young faculty hire at the Kaufman Music Center, she mainly taught at Face The Music, where she started and developed the songwriting program (guest artists included Helen Park, Lynzy Lab, and Spencer Battiest & Doc Native) and coached gifted string quartets for performances at Carnegie Hall and National Sawdust (guest artists included the Kronos Quartet and ETHEL). Adrianna’s formative musical experiences include performing her Carnegie Hall debut on piano at eight years old, writing new songs every day for a week at the Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project, and regularly immersing herself for hours in her dad's music collection, which featured the Mateo family's Three B's: Bach, Barbra Streisand, and Billy Idol.
Antoine Clark - conductor, Artistic Director, Music Director
Compelling interpretations, inventive performances, and an energetic stage presence are the hallmarks of American conductor Antoine T. Clark. The founding Artistic and Music Director of the Worthington Chamber Orchestra in Ohio (formerly McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, established in 2013), Mr. Clark served as Assistant Conductor of West Virginia’s Wheeling Symphony Orchestra from fall 2021 to spring 2023. He has been appointed as Associate Conductor for the 2023-2024 season. A passionate advocate of arts education, in 2022, he served as Cincinnati Symphony’s MAC Music Innovator. The program, which highlights leading African American classical musicians who embody artistry, innovation, and commitment to education and community engagement, saw Clark leading chamber music and orchestral performances in schools and throughout the community during his residency.
This past summer, Clark guest conducted Kamratōn Ensemble in performances in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn and with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Fall 2023 highlights include engagements with the South Carolina Philharmonic, a two-city New York tour with Gateways Music Festival, Walla Walla Symphony, and leading Lima Symphony’s (Ohio) New Year’s Eve concert.
2022-2023 season highlights included a collaboration with Hixon Dance in a performance of Peter and the Wolf with the Worthington Chamber Orchestra and guest engagements with Dayton Philharmonic, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic, Symphony Tacoma, Elgin Symphony, Orchestra, and New Jersey Symphony. Recent season engagements include Lancaster Festival Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Columbus. He also served as a panelist with Harold Brown, Chief Diversity Officer of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, at the 2022 International Conductors Guild Conference’s panel discussion on diversity on the podium. Guest engagements include Chicago Sinfonietta, the Chamber Orchestra of New York, the Colour of Music Festival Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, and the Gateways Music Festival. For his work with Chicago Sinfonietta leading the premiere of Joel Thompson’s “breathe/burn: an elegy” for cello and orchestra, the Chicago Tribune praised “Clark, who led from the podium with balletic poise.” With McConnell Arts Center Chamber Orchestra, he led a collaboration with musicians from the Columbus Jazz Orchestra in a concert tribute to John Coltrane. A staunch supporter of DEI, Mr. Clark also participated in Chicago Sinfonietta’s 15th Annual Diversity Reception and the 2021 Youth Orchestras Online DEI panel, a collaboration between Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, and the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestras.
With a focus on building strong relationships in communities, Mr. Clark creates bold programs that often include innovative collaborations with artists from various artistic disciplines. A passionate supporter of new music, Mr. Clark regularly commissions works for the symphonic and chamber music canon. Among the composers he has worked with are Mark Lomax II, Jacob Reed, Matthew Saunders, Michael Rene Torres, Christopher Weait, Tony Zilincik, Ching-chu Hu, and Vera Stanojevic.
Committed to inspiring and nurturing the next generation of musicians, Mr. Clark has taught students ranging from young beginners to college music majors. He has served as the assistant conductor at the Gateways Music Festival in association with the Eastman School of Music since 2017.
Prior posts include serving as assistant conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta, music director of the Ohio Wesleyan University Chamber Orchestra, music director of the Ohio Northern University Symphony, music director of the Ohio Northern University Wind Orchestra, music director of the Wayne State College Orchestra, and assistant conductor of The Ohio State University Orchestra.
Antoine T. Clark holds a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance from The Ohio State University, a Master of Music degree in clarinet performance from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. A winner in the 2017 International Conductor’s Workshop and Competition, he has participated in the Cabrillo Contemporary Festival of Music, the Monteux School and Music Festival, the International Conductors Guild Conference conducting masterclass, the New York Conducting Workshop, the Smoky Mountain International Conducting Institute, and as a Project Inclusion Conducting Freeman Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta. Among his mentors are conductors Neal Gittleman, Mei-Ann Chen, the late Michael Morgan, Markand Thakar, the late Michael Jinbo, and Marshall Haddock.