Dear friend of Oaktown Jazz Workshops (OJW),

Thank you for supporting year-round, community-based music education for youth. This past summer we resumed our in-person classes, workshops, and concerts at our venue and began performing at community events around Oakland, CA. It has been rewarding to see returning OJW members rekindle their friendships with each other through music and exciting for us to welcome new musicians to our program!

After months of engaging our young musicians online with weekly listening assignments and live Zoom discussions during the shelter-in-place, we saw the need to deepen our support of students by offering one-on-one instruction and expanding our program to include an audio engineering class, which will start in spring of 2022.

Centrally located in Jack London Square, the workshops and classes we offer bring children together from Oakland’s neighborhoods and nearby cities to learn in a safe and supportive environment, complete with high-quality instruments and musical equipment. Most of OJW’s students participate in our program for over two years, giving our faculty the opportunity to get to know the young musicians’ strengths and achievements, and provide personalized guidance as they progress. Our dedicated instructors work together collaboratively to share their many decades of experience as professional musicians with students. 

OJW’s faculty also features alumni Youth Mentors that co-teach workshops with our instructors and serve as role models. Many alumni that now live elsewhere make a point to visit Oaktown Jazz Workshops when they return to the Bay Area and help to connect current students with future academic and professional possibilities.

Offering a music program that young musicians consistently find inspiring and authentic would not be possible without the support of individual community members. Nine years ago we launched the Khalil Shaheed Scholarship Fund to cover the cost of our workshops for young musicians whose families could not otherwise afford tuition. This fund has been absolutely critical in supporting local young people seeking opportunities for creative expression and artistic development. Your contribution to this fund will encourage our children’s creativity, elevate music education and appreciation, and enrich our community.

Thank you for considering us for a year-end donation.

Sincerely,

Ravi Abcarian

Executive Director

When I first began teaching at Oaktown Jazz in 1997 Michael Morgan and Oaktown Jazz Workshops’ (OJW) Founding Director, Khalil Shaheed, had just completed a collaboration that featured OJW’s young jazz musicians playing a tribute to John Coltrane with the Oakland Symphony. The concert was a success but there was a clear sense of urgency to do more for the youth of Oakland as schools were locking up their instruments and cutting music programs.

Michael Morgan began presenting school assemblies across the Bay Area that featured both a string quartet from Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra and a jazz combo from Oaktown Jazz. He began to invite OJW’s young musicians to perform before the Oakland Symphony’s concerts at the Paramount Theater and Fourth of July Celebrations, creating many magical experiences for our young musicians.

In 1999 Michael Morgan joined Oaktown Jazz Workshops’ Board of Directors and always made himself available to support our organization and students – an unofficial pathway to his alma mater, Oberlin Conservatory, was created for many of OJW’s musicians.

Oakland began changing rapidly with waves of tech and real estate bubbles but Michael Morgan’s support of youth and those that advocated for them remained constant.

As an OJW Board Member, his guidance was invaluable as he had an amazing ability to find solutions to issues far away on the horizon and keep the focus on offering high quality music education to young people. His input at our last board meeting regarding Covid-19 safety protocols is now part of every workshop and class we offer.

Michael Morgan believed in the young people of our community and the power of music to change lives.

Rest in Peace Michael Morgan.

Ravi Abcarian
Executive Director, Oaktown Jazz Workshops