Roderick Cox conducts the U.K.’s Chineke! Orchestra and pianist Nicolas van Poucke at Royal Festival Hall, September 2020. Photo: Mark Allan
“Roderick Cox’s appearance with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra could not have come at a better time,” writes Anders Hare in Thursday’s (10/21) QCity Metro (Charlotte, NC). “Cox will [conduct] the orchestra in its Brahms’ Serenade No. 2 program on Oct. 29 and 30. The Berlin-based American conductor said he looks forward to working with the Charlotte orchestra for the first time…. As one of a few African American conductors in the world, Cox has been called a ‘trailblazer.’ … One of his primary goals is to inspire young musicians of color…. In 2018, he launched the Roderick Cox Music Initiative, a scholarship program that aims to nurture the next generation of musicians of color. The effort has resulted in seven students receiving scholarships in 2020, and nine in 2021. Cox wants to help young musicians find their passions through music…. Leading the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is just the latest checkpoint in Cox’s long voyage to the podium. His years-long trek can be seen in the upcoming documentary ‘Conducting Life.’ Directed by Diane Moore, the film chronicles seven years of Cox’s life, detailing … how Cox has navigated ‘the intensively competitive profession of orchestral conducting.’ ” Cox participated in the League of American Orchestras’ Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview in 2016.
