Nick Armstrong conducts his final concert with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra 

EASTERN PARKWAY — After 32 years with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra (BSO), Maestro Nick Armstrong is stepping down from his role as artistic director and primary composer. Jokingly referring to himself as “The Brooklynite with the weird accent,” Armstrong is a long-time teacher, composer, and violinist originally from Bursledon, England. His final performance as Director of the BSO took place last Sunday at the Brooklyn Museum, where the BSO is currently in musical residence. 

The orchestra began with Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona’s rhythmically stunning Andalucia Suite (1927), before moving into the lush, sweeping Antinous and Hadrian Suite (2013) by Clint Borzoni, a New York-based composer who was in the audience. Pianist Huizi Zhang accompanied the orchestra for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 (1785), chosen for its intricate and fast melodies that Armstrong hoped would challenge his musicians. The orchestra finished with Dvorzak’s Symphony No. 8 (1889), a long-favored standard in the orchestra’s repertoire. The mix of sounds, eras, and cultures of the pieces resulted in an extremely engaging concert that bristled with beauty and liveliness.

Over the course of his time as artistic director, Armstrong developed the BSO into what it is today, pushing both its size and ability with a consistent repertoire of challenging and unpredictable pieces. “When I joined the orchestra…[it] was [a] stereotypical community orchestra—mostly retired dentists and old ladies,” Armstrong says. “We have a huge number of younger people now…who trained professionally, so they’re looking for a good space to play and keep their skills going. I think I’ve created that environment and I’m proud of that.”