Oakland Tech is proud to present a wide variety of music classes.
Instrumental Music:
Overheard outside Tech’s band practice room: “I want to go to that party!” For students who play – or who want to learn to play – an instrument, Tech will offer the following in 2010-2011:
Jazz Band and Concert Band
Orchestra
Piano (beginners welcome)
Guitar (beginners welcome)
Tech’s orchestra and jazz bands perform in large and small ensembles at the school and in festivals and competitions in Oakland and around the Bay. Qualified solo musicians may play in the jazz bands. Click the links above for more information on these offerings.
Vocal Music:
Tech offers an after-school Chorus and Voice Class open to all students.
The Orchestra Spring Concert will take place on May 24, 7:00 p.m. in the beautiful Tech auditorium.
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Come hear Tech’s Jazz Bands at Yoshi’s world-famous jazz club on Monday, April 15th! Proceeds from ticket sales will help the Orchestra attend the “Music in the Parks” competition at Great America.
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The Choir/Poetry class presents its Solo Recital Thursday, March 14, 6:30 pm in the Tech Auditorium
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Mark your calendars for the Music Department’s Winter Concert: December 20, 6:30 p.m. Come hear Tech’s talented musicians and award-winning ensembles!
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Tech’s Orchestra performs in the OUSD Orchestra Festival, led by Maestro Michael Morgan, on March 7, 2013
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Join us at the Choir Holiday Performance and Potluck December 14!
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The 11th Annual OUSD Jazz Festival will be held February 7th at Oakland Tech, featuring Tech’s Jazz Band and bands from schools throughout OUSD. Don’t miss it!
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A grand collaborative performance for all Tech students, featuring dance, drama, music and fashion, in the Auditorium.
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The period 6 Drama Class and the Choir present a Showcase on the theme of “Courage.”
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Tower of Power brass player Mic Gillette headlines a fundraiser for Tech’s fantastic Jazz Band on Friday, November 9th at 7:00pm.
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On October 30, the Tech Music Department will present the Orchestra. This is your chance to hear the violins, cellos, string basses, flutes, brass – the whole orchestra – in a concert all by itself!
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Tech’s Jazz Band performs at the prestigious CMEA Jazz Festival East at Northgate High in Walnut Creek on Jan. 18.
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On May 3 and 4, 2013, for the third year in a row, Tech’s Orchestra will be performing at Great America’s Music in the Parks.
Music in the Parks brings together school groups from around the Bay Area at a grand performance, followed by an award ceremony at Great America. Tech’s Orchestra is pleased and proud to have been awarded the first place trophy for High School Full Orchestra two years running, in 2011 and 2012!
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Hear Oakland’s top instrumental music students in the Honor Band at Tech, December 1 at 1 p.m. in the Tech Auditorium
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Don’t miss the Jazz Band and Orchestra Concert, May 24 at 6:30 p.m.
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Don’t miss the Choir/Poetry Class’s last performance of the year, June 5 at 6:30 in the Auditorium
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Tech’s Chorus/Voice class presents an intimate cabaret-style choir/poetry solo recital on March 22, 2012, on the stage at the Tech Auditorium.
Students will each be singing a solo of their choice, and the class will perform two ensemble pieces. In addition, a few students will read a selection of original poems written in class and/or posted on our blog. The recital is a chance for each singer to grow — picking a song or poem that will help to expand their vocal tone, range, and expressiveness — not to mention dealing with stage fright.
Vocal coach Susannah Wood gave each���¢�¯�¿�½���¦ Read the rest
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Three Tech musicians performed at the Paramount Theater with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.
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On Monday, February 27, 2012, Big O, the big band of Oakland Unified Music Teachers, will take the stage at Yoshi’s. The money raised will go towards supporting the OUSD Music Department.
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Come hear Tech’s Jazz Bands at Yoshi’s world-famous jazz club on April 2!
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The annual OUSD Orchestra Festival will be held at Roosevelt Middle School on Thursday, March 8th at 6:30 p.m. Please note the change of venue!
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Hear legendary percussionist Pete Escovedo at the 10th Annual OUSD Jazz Festival, February 9 at 6:30 p.m….FREE!
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Tech’s Jazz Band performs at the prestigious CMEA Jazz Festival East at Northgate High in Walnut Creek on Jan. 20
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Welcome the holidays with a potluck songfest led by Tech’s Chorus, December 16, 6-7:30 p.m. in Room A3
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Come hear the Chorus sing holiday song at the Snow Day at Rockridge BART, Saturday 11/27, 3-4 p.m.
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Don’t miss the Music Winter Concert December 1!
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The Ancestor Assembly is a Tech tradition, with instrumental music, voice, dance and drama presentations. Mark your calendars!
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Exciting new Arts Credit Recovery Program offers 10 units elective credit in after-school program
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Tech’s students gave a gala performance to thank the Class of ’61 for restoring our beautiful piano.
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The Tech community and the public are invited to a free concert on Saturday, September 17, celebrating the restoration of Tech’s beautiful Steinway grand piano, courtesy of the extraordinary generosity of Tech’s Class of 1961.
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Tech’s award-winning jazz band and orchestra will perform their final concert of the year on June 2 at 6:30 p.m.
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For the second year in a row, Tech’s Orchestra bring home the gold medal at Music in the Parks at Great America!
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Several Tech musicians played side by side with the Oakland East Bay Symphony in the fabulous Paramount Theater.
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Hear Tech’s Orchestra play at Music in the Parks at California’s Great America in Santa Clara on May 7.
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Come see Tech’s Spring play, Blues for an Alabama Sky, May 25-27.
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We all know the economy is bad. But did you know that our children are right in the line of the budget axe?
Current budget proposals would eliminate nearly all performing arts from all schools in California.
Watch a video made by student Saskia Levy-Sheon in which Tech Performing Arts students explain what the arts have meant to them, and what it would mean to have performing arts programs cut:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCj43SO_sXE
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Our students produce amazing works of performing and fine art, and the arts fuel their academic lives, but budget cuts threaten the arts in schools. We need your input!
Please join us at a meeting of the Arts Committee, Friday, March 25, at 7:30 a.m. in the Principal’s Conference Room.
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Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Tech’s Class of 1961, our beautiful Steinway grand piano has been restored!
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Tech’s Chorus and Voice Class presents its Spring Solo Recital! This will be an informal, intimate setting, with the audience sitting on the auditorium stage with the performers and the curtain closed.
Please enter from the 42nd street side door directly into the auditorium.
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On February 26, 2011, Tech students Kai Caldwell, Azuri Reyes, Godiva McGinty and Ana Acosta of the Oakland Tech Chorus did what few of us would have the guts to do. Here’s a report from someone who was there:
Last Saturday the Chorus went to the Emeryville Public Market & performed in the middle of the Food Court.
It was loud, people had no idea what was going on…
The kids did a great job!
I am very proud of them & I wanted to share it with the group.
Hear the Chorus’s Market performance here on YouTube: http://tiny.cc/OaklandTechChorus
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We will be having a volunteer work day this Saturday, January 8, from 10am-3pm.
Meet at the Auditorium to find out how you can help. Even just 30 minutes out of your day is extremely helpful. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to better get to know others in the community.
We will be sprucing up the Auditorium, organizing backstage areas, and helping with the needs of the Dance Studio.
From 12pm-1pm we will break for a meeting of the Performing Arts Committee. Lunch will be provided! All are welcome to sit in and provide input on the���¢�¯�¿�½���¦ Read the rest
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Guests at the inauguration of Jean Quan as Oakland’s Mayor on Monday, January 3, 2011 were treated to the fabulous music of Tech’s jazz band. At a party the evening before the inauguration, a string quartet from Tech joined musicians from Edna Brewer, Skyline, Westlake, and Bret Harte, as well as the Big-O Band, an ensemble of music teachers throughout the Oakland Unified School District.
Congratulations to Tech’s student musicians for receiving this honor!
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If you attended the wonderful Temescal Holiday Stroll on December 11, you may have been lucky enough to hear Tech’s Chorus sing carols!
Wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers, the singers went to various locations on Telegraph Avenue and sang to merchants, shoppers and passersby. Read Chorus Director Susannah Wood’s account at http://www.operapiccola.blogspot.com/ (activate the search feature by typing CTRL+F and then type Oakland Tech).
Congratulations to the chorus for participating in these festivities!
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Gareth Tidball ’12, who played Dracula in the recent production, reflects on the experience.
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Don’t miss Tech’s winter music concert! Come hear the orchestra, jazz band and chorus in what’s always a highlight of the performing arts calendar!
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All Oakland Tech Performing Arts students & families are welcome! Light Refreshments, Performances, Question & Answer Period, Performing Arts Committee Drive
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You’re invited to “Back to School Night – Performing Arts Edition.”
Come meet and mingle with teachers, administrators and parents (refreshments served!) in Tech’s beautiful auditorium, find out what your students are doing and what’s planned in Tech’s arts courses, and learn about plans to continue upgrading and renovating the auditorium. And of course, there will be time for you to ask questions and find out how you can become involved in making Tech’s arts education even better!
We need volunteers for this event to bring and set up refreshments. Please contact Performing Arts Chair Sonja Travick at ayanoni@aol.com���¢�¯�¿�½���¦ Read the rest
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Tech’s Production Drama class is proud to present Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula in an adaptation of Orson Welles’ fabulous radio play.
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Tech’s Chorus and Voice Class is looking for a pianist who can sight read well and is willing to help on a volunteer basis or for a very small honorarium. If you are interested or know someone who can help, please contact Susannah Wood at sweet.theater@gmail.com.
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Each year, Tech’s performing arts students honor some of the diverse cultural traditions that our student body represents through music, spoken word, dramatic performance and dance in the Ancestors Assembly. The entire student body and all staff and faculty attend this moving and beautiful event.
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All are welcome to the Performing Arts Committee Retreat, Sunday, October 3, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Teachers and parents will come together to talk about our plans and hopes for the Performing Arts Academy, the Drama, Dance and Music departments, and the Auditorium this coming year and in the future.
The Retreat will be held at the Attitudinal Healing Connection, 3278 West Street (corner of 33rd St. and West St.). A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.
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Hello Parents, Faculty, and Friends of the Performing Arts at Oakland Tech.
The Tech Techies after-school program needs your help! We need some tools and supplies to really kick the program into high gear. My goal is to turn the Workshop behind the Auditorium into a functioning work space where students can learn what it is like to design lights, sound, sets, props, and costumes in the professional theatre world. And since Tech Techies’ goal is to better serve all performances at Oakland Tech, any support you give the program will in turn support ALL performing arts at our school.Ã��Ã�¢Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest
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Tech’s Chorus and Voice Class is looking for a pianist who can sight read well, who is willing to help on a volunteer basis or for a very small honorarium. If you are interested or know someone who can help, please contact Susannah Wood at sweet.theater@gmail.com.
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In addition to all Tech’s instrumental music offerings, Tech’s community arts partner Opera Piccola offers choral singing as a before-school club. Tech’s small chorus – three young men and ten young women from ninth through twelfth grades – comes sleepily to practice once a week at 7:30 AM. By the time our fifty minutes of vocal technique and learning music is over, we’re all feeling pretty good about the day ahead of us. We have to relax, breathe deeply and listen to all the pitches that hang in the air around us. Studies have shown the value of music performanceÃ��Ã�¢Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest
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Mark your calendars for March 10, 2011 for the OUSD Orchestra Festival at Roosevelt Middle School! You won’t want to miss this event featuring orchestral music by student musicians from all over the District, including of course our own Tech orchestra under the direction of our own David Byrd!
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Don’t miss the OUSD All-District Jazz Festival at Oakland Tech!
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You don’t want to miss this: one night only, the fall 2010 performance of the OUSD Honor Band, the fabulous ensemble that comes together when the music teachers from Bret Harte, Edna Brewer, Westlake, Skyline, Montera, Oakland High, Claremont Middle School and Tech nominate their top talent! Every student enrolled in instrumental music is eligible.
November 6 -Honor Band Rehearsal @Edna Brewer Middle School
November 13 -Honor Band Rehearsal @Edna Brewer Middle School
November 18 -Honor Band Concert @ Oakland Tech!
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From October 1-3, 2010, as he has done each fall, Tech music teacher David Byrd brought a handpicked group of students to the prestigious and beautiful Cazadero music camp, to act as mentors in the “JumpStart in Music” program.
JumpStart in Music is an intensive three-day mini camp for approximately 150 students from six OUSD middle schools who have completed their first year in band or orchestra. JumpStart in Music’s mission is to increase involvement of children in school music programs, build leadership in a cross-cultural program among an ethnically diverse student body,Ã��Ã�¢Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest
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Tech’s jazz band performs at the world-famous Yoshi’s jazz club – two shows only, April 11 at 7 and 9
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The Opera Piccola Chorus is delighted to announce that classical baritone Martin Bell is lending his extraordinary talents to help the chorus’ male singers learn to use their lower registers.
Mr. Bell is a resident of Oakland. He has performed with the Oakland Lyric Opera, Berkeley Opera, Oakland Opera Theater, Capital Opera, West Marin Festival Orchestra, Oakland Festival Chorus, North Bay Opera and San Francisco Lyric Opera. Oakland Tech and Opera Piccola welcome Martin Bell!
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As the school year winds down, Opera Piccola has several concerts lined up:
- On May 26, the chorus will continue our tradition of performing in local senior centers.
- The Opera Piccola Chorus will perform several numbers, including the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” at the Tech Spring Concert on June 3, 2010, at 6:30 p.m.
Please help support our efforts to make Chorus a full-credit class during the school day beginning in school year 2010-2011! Write a comment in response to this post, and you will be connected with the people working on this effort.
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Jazz, orchestra, song … It’s always a great evening at the final concert for the music department. Come hear all of Tech’s talented music students: orchestra, jazz ensembles, instrumental soloists, and the Opera Piccola chorus.
When: June 3, 2010, 6:30 p.m.
Where: The Tech Auditorium, 42nd Street at Broadway
Bring your friends! Tell the community!
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Tech’s Orchestra performed at the March 11, 2010 OUSD Orchestra Festival, where a spontaneous and lovely collaboration occurred.
At the Festival, the Skyline and Oakland Tech High School orchestras realized they’d prepared the same song for the
OUSD Orchestra Festival – Bacchanale by Camille Saint-Saens – so without any advance preparation, they played it together! What a thrilling and beautiful big sound from the spontaneously formed SkyTech/OakLine orchestra!
As if that weren’t enough, the 11 participating middle and high school orchestras (including students from “failing” school Elmhurst Community Prep) performed the last two numbers together as the OUSD Combined Orchestra,Ã��Ã�¢Ã�¯Ã�¿Ã�½Ã��Ã�¦ Read the rest
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Do you have experience in grantwriting? Do you care deeply about funding for Tech’s arts programs?
Tech is in danger of losing our after-school vocal music program due to a funding crisis. Our solution: turn it into a class that meets during the school day! We need to raise $15,000. Come brainstorm with us at a grantwriting meeting to discuss this and other funding issues.
May 12, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Principal’s Conference Room
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Jazz musicians, here’s a way to get work experience, play music and spend some time in gorgeous country! The Youth Jazz Camp at Feather River is looking for teens to be counselors in training. Youth Jazz Camp offers jazz training and performance with a well-known jazz artist, as well as outdoor camp activities in a beautiful setting from August 16-21, 2010, and a performance at an Oakland venue on return. For more information, contact Renee Tucker at 510-597-5027.
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Attention all jazz musicians! The SFJazz High School All-Stars will be recruiting at Tech on July 17!
The SFJAZZ High School All-Stars program provides advanced-level training and performance opportunities for some of the most talented musicians in the nation. Students have the opportunity to perform in a big band and small ensembles, attend master classes, and receive training in composition, jazz theory, improvisation, orchestration, arranging, auditioning, and music business, all with top jazz educators and artists.
Learn more about the SFJazz High School All-Stars
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On April 30, from 6:30-8:30, students from Opera Piccola’s programs in Claremont Middle School, Elmhurst Community Prep, Stonehurst Elementary, Sankofa Academy and other schools will perform in Tech’s auditorium, allowing the students to have a taste of a high school performing space. Please welcome our visitors!
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The Opera Piccola chorus announces its senior citizen’s resident tour Sunday May 23, 2010. The chorus’s performances at local senior citizens’ residences is always hugely popular with students and seniors alike!
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Tech’s Orchestra performed in the CMEA orchestral festival on May 7 at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord. The orchestra received very high grades, and was warmly received, as everyone was very enthusiastic that there we have a full and growing music program back at Tech!
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On March 17, 2010, Opera Piccola’s Chorus/Voice class presented the first solo vocal recital at Oakland Tech in memory. A standing room only crowd sat on the stage in traditional recital fashion, while singers from the chorus bravely made their solo debuts in the spotlight next to the piano. All levels were represented, and musical styles from Country to contemporary pop hits, to jazz standards of the ’40′s. Their vocal coach, Susannah Wood of Opera Piccola, noted that every single singer showed improvement in technique and risk taking. Bravo, brave singers!!
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Tech’s Orchestra performed at the March 11, 2010 OUSD Orchestra Festival, where a spontaneous and lovely collaboration occurred.
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Please join us for the 2009 Winter Concert in the Oakland Tech Auditorium, presented by the Oakland Tech Music Department. Performing will be:
- Choir
- Orchestra
- Jazz Band
- Maybe solo Piano
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The Tech Chorus and Voice Class presents a song recital, with different styles of solo songs
Wednesday, March 17, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Oakland Tech Auditorium, 42nd Street and Broadway
Donations gratefully accepted
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Oakland Tech is proud to present a wide variety of music classes.
