Carnegie Hall

Anthony Parnther, music director of San Bernardino Symphony, conducts Gateways Festival Orchestra and led the ensemble during its sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, which featured the world premiere of Jon Batiste’s I Can. Maestro Parnther has conducted artists across the spectrum from Joshua Bell, Jessye Norman, and Frederica von Stade to Imagine Dragons, Wu-Tang Clan, John Legend, Metro Boomin, and Rihanna. He has been engaged by the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Opera, National Symphony Orchestra, and others in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Atlanta, San Francisco, Detroit, Buffalo, and Rochester. Internationally, he has conducted orchestras in Canada, Australia, and Europe, including the Chineke! Orchestra, with which he made his BBC Proms debut.

Known for amplifying underrepresented voices, and recognized by LA’s KCET as a “Local Hero,” Maestro Parnther has reconstructed, performed, and recorded works by Margaret Bonds, Duke Ellington, Zenobia Powell Perry, Florence Price, William Grant Still, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. He led LA Opera’s world premiere of Tamar-kali Brown’s oratorio We Hold These Truths and Long Beach Opera’s revival of Anthony Davis’s Pulitzer Prize–winning The Central Park Five. He has also given premieres and recorded works by Kris Bowers, Chanda Dancy, Adolphus Hailstork, Marian Harrison, Philip Herbert, Daniel Kidane, Gary Powell Nash, James Newton, George Walker, Errollyn Wallen, James Wilson, and John Wineglass.

Maestro Parnther has also helmed recordings for feature film and television scores, including Avatar: The Way of Water, Oppenheimer, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Encanto, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Nope, Creed III, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Diaries of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild, Tenet, American Dad, Turning Red, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, and League of Legends.

Known for her “plush-voiced mezzo-soprano” (The New York Times) and “calmly commanding stage presence” (The New Yorker) and noted as “a singer headed for topflight” (Financial Times), two-time Grammy Award–winning American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges has graced the world’s top opera and concert stages.

In the 2024–2025 season, she made her role debut as Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera. Her concert engagements include performing alongside the National Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Tacoma, Minnesota Orchestra, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She performed a solo recital as an artist-in-residence at the Kaufman Music Center, and features as the mezzo-soprano soloist alongside the Dessoff Choirs in Verdi’s Requiem for a concert at Trinity Church. Returning to Seattle Opera, she debuted the role of Didon in performances of Berlioz’s Les Troyens, and in spring 2025, she plays the title role in Carmen at the Vienna State Opera. Ms. Bridges made her Lincoln Center debut performing Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs, and saw a huge success performing the role of Mary in John Adams’s El Niño at the Met.

A signature ensemble of the Gateways Music Festival, the Gateways Festival Orchestra (GFO) is a world-class orchestra that showcases Black classical artistry at the highest level. Composed of professional musicians from leading symphony orchestras, conservatories, and ensembles across the country, the GFO brings a powerful and distinct voice to classical music.

The GFO’s legacy is shaped by visionary leadership. Michael Morgan conducted the first GFO in 1993, and from 2016, as music director, he guided the ensemble with artistry and purpose, leading to the orchestra’s invitation to be presented at Carnegie Hall. Just months before this historic concert, Michael Morgan passed away unexpectedly—a profound loss for the GFO and the classical music world. In the wake of his passing, renowned conductor Anthony Parnther was entrusted to lead the orchestra through this moment of joy and pain. In 2022, Maestro Parnther conducted GFO’s sold-out Carnegie Hall debut, making history as the first all-Black classical orchestra to be presented at the iconic venue. The performance, dedicated to Michael Morgan’s memory, ushered in a new chapter of impact and visibility.

Since its historic Carnegie Hall debut, the Gateways Festival Orchestra has continued to rise, earning invitations from prestigious presenters and venues, and continuing its collaboration with Maestro Parnther. In 2024, GFO performed at Chicago’s Symphony Center, closing the Gateways Music Festival’s weeklong residency in Chicago. In 2025, the orchestra returns to Carnegie Hall, reaffirming its place on the world’s most renowned stages.

The Gateways Festival Orchestra is a living, evolving community of artists—each festival brings together new and returning musicians in a shared commitment to the music. For some, Gateways is a long-held tradition; for others, the festival marks a first, transformative experience of connection, artistry, and belonging. Every GFO is unique to itself, infusing performances with energy, renewal, new voices, and tradition.