Technites Past and Present Talent Showcase

The Empty Minded, now an all originals ban, began in 2011. The band has played shows around the East Bay, and their first single, “Louie”, was released in May of 2014. Its members are:

Oliver Van Moon, Class of 2017– drums. Oliver has been playing drums as long as he can remember and currently takes drum, guitar, and bass lessons. He plans to play as many styles and genres as he can, and to share his love for music.

Niko Darci-Maher, Class of 2017– vocals, keyboard, guitar. Niko started playing piano when he was 8 and now studies guitar, piano and bass. He plans to keep playing music and see how far he can go with it.

Luke Maier, Class of 2017– guitar. Luke started taking piano at age 7. At age 10, he began playing guitar and cello.

Song-An “Sho” Stewart, Class of 2017– bass. Sho began studying classical piano at age 5 and took up bass at age 10. She plans to continue playing, composing music, and learning new instruments.

Patrick Friedman, a beloved social studies teacher at Tech since 2006, sings and plays drums. These days, most of his musical expression consists of performances for his young daughter and duets with his wife, although he will be contributing drums to a recording with some South Bay friends next month. Patrick looks forward to spending more time with his family, and is itching to get back in the saddle again to make music on a consistent basis.

Becky Wolf has taught at Tech for 5 years. She sang throughout her own high school career, in musical theater as well as choir. In general, she enjoys being on stage in any capacity.

Edward Nunoo, 2015: Edward began playing clarinet in 2nd grade, oboe in 4th, drums in 7th, and piano in 8th. In 3rd grade he joined the Young Musicians Program at the UC Berkeley Department of Music in which he currently sings bass and is the Principal Oboe.

Edward has won 1st place in both the Pacific Musical Society Vocal Competition and the Contra Costa Performing Arts Society Vocal Competition and has performed in festivals and theaters throughout the Bay Area. He hopes to pursue a degree in Vocal Performance and become a professional opera singer.

Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 (“Sonata Pathetique”)- Ludwig van Beethoven

Omar Abdul-Rahim, Class of 2015, has studied classical music under Rebecca Trujillo since the 2nd grade. He has played a number of benefit solo concerts, including one in November with two of his classmates. Last year Omar was awarded a President’s Volunteer Service Award. He plans to take music theory classes in college and to continue exploring his passion as a pianist.

Originally performed in Spring 2013, 99 Years:The Legends and Legacies of Oakland Tech was written and developed by OakTechRep, the Award-Winning Drama program at Oakland Tech. The script is based on interviews of over 60 Students, Staff, and Alumni, and this scene was performed by:

About 9 years ago, a few of the “older ladies” in a taiko group based in Union City decided to form their own “granny group” and Heiwa Taiko was born! Their average age is 70, with Annie Ong, Class of 1952, the oldest at 81! They play about 25 gigs a year and have played at the Shakespeare Festival in Oregon, the SF Academy of Sciences, Pixar Studios, and the Golden Gate Bridge 75th anniversary. They made their 4 large drums out of wine barrels!

Akiro Duey, Class of 2015, has studied cello since age 6 and is in his 5th season with the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra (YPSO, the oldest independent youth orchestra in California and the second oldest in the US.)

Akiro has toured with the YPSO in Central Europe and on the East Coast, including a performance at Carnegie Hall. He hopes to continue playing cello at college.

Omar Shabazz, Class of 1989, was assigned to a dance class while at Tech by mistake. The day Omar checked out the after school dance club, Oakland Ballet’s director, Ron Guidi, was a guest teacher. He invited Omar to his class at Oakland Ballet School and after his very first class, Guidi, asked Omar to learn the “Wooden Soldier Dance” from The Nutcracker! Within six weeks, he was on stage performing with the Oakland Ballet. Over the next 10 years, Omar performed roles in The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Petrouchka. He is currently on the teaching staff of The Oakland Ballet School and Ballet Petit in Hayward.

Deon Oddone, Class of 2015: Deon began dancing ballet at age 3 and never stopped! She started at Danspace in Rockridge and moved to Oakland Ballet School the summer before 6th grade. She has spent summers with the Sacramento Ballet School’s Intensive and has performed in many shows including The Nutcracker where she has had roles like Rose Queen and ballerina doll. She met Omar at Oakland Ballet School and has found him to be both an amazing teacher and a great mentor.

Tech’s Poly Club was founded in 2008 by students who wanted to learn, practice, and showcase elements of the cultures of the Pacific Islands. The Poly Club has won numerous awards at competitions and even danced at halftime for the Golden State Warriors in 2013.

This rendition of George Gershin’s “Summertime is performed by the Oakland Eastside All-Star Jazz Ensemble, including current students:

Emmett Tuttle, Class of 2019
Darnel Pipkins, Class of 2015
Emonti Herrera, Class of 2015
Paul Adan (OSA), Class of 2017
Erin Walker (Vocalist), Class of 2016