“Jazz means a lot to me. It is one of the few things I am passionate about,” states OJW Alumnus and alto saxophonist Lucas De Hart.  When listening to music Lucas focuses on modern jazz and jazz recordings from the 1960’s but also includes R&B from the 1970’s and 80’s as some of his favorite types of music.

Raised in Oakland, CA, Lucas started to learn piano at age four and began lessons on alto saxophone at age eight, but it wasn’t until he joined Oaktown Jazz Workshops (OJW) the summer before starting 5^th grade that he began to enjoy playing music.

“My sister had participated in Oaktown Jazz when she was younger so she suggested to my mother that that if I really wanted to get into jazz I should join OJW. The first day was really fun, the instructors were Achyutan, Ravi Abcarian and Andy Ostwald, I was nervous and I didn’t really know what I was doing yet, but it was probably one of my funnest experiences; to just start trying to improvise.”

Lucas became an integral member of OJW’s Performance Ensemble during his eight years with the program. As he progressed as a musician he began mentoring the younger musicians enrolled in the workshops and in the summer of 2015 he was appointed to the position of Student Representative to OJW’s Board of Directors.

Some of Lucas’ most memorable times with Oaktown Jazz Workshops were performing at The City of Oakland’s Art & Soul Festival and at the many young musicians showcases that OJW presented in Jack London Square.

Now a freshman at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, Lucas is a member of three of the university’s musical groups where he performs a range of styles from jazz to R&B to gospel.