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Oakland School for the Arts

Oakland School for the Arts

Alumni Spotlight

April 2024 Alumni Spotlight: OSA is pleased to welcome home 2018 graduate Satya who will perform at the Metamorphosis Pre-Party on April 29
osa welcomes home satya

Performing at the Metamorphosis Pre-Party.....
osa welcomes home satya

Satya promo photo
Oakland School for the Arts is pleased to welcome home 2018 graduate Satya who will perform at the Metamorphosis Pre-Party on April 29.

Satya came out with 2 EPs, Deep Blue in 2022 and Flourish Against Fracture in 2019, and her forthcoming debut album is called Yellow Horse.

"Oakland-born singer Satya fuses R&B with folk influences for a soulful sound that is wholly unique." - San Francisco Chronicle

"Impeccable vocal delivery on her slow, soothing and soulful offerings." - San Jose Mercury News

"A neo-soul singer/songwriter with boundless promise." - KQED

Metamorphosis Pre-Party
Monday, April 29 @ 5 pm -The Den at The Fox Theater

Metamorphosis All-School Performance
Monday, April 29 @ 7pm - The Fox Theater

Shout out to @satsatmusic. Welcome home!
 
 
 
Photo by @misstaylorhunter
Styled by @sassfiend
 
Metamorphosis pre-party information

We're in the final days of ticket sales! Tickets for both are available at oakarts.org.



March 2024 Alumi Spotlight Features: 2018 Alum August Lee Stevens
august lee stevens

august lee stevens

Alumni August Lee Stevens
Today we celebrate Vocal Music alumni, August Lee Stevens! @augustleestevens

August is a singer-songwriter musician based out of Hercules, California. While attending OSA, she started as a pianist in the Instrumental Music Pathway and later moved on to the Vocal Music Pathway to study voice and songwriting.

August's original music has dynamic sound that merges the lyrical rawness and simplicity of Folk songs with the melodies and vocals of Neo Soul. A lover of storytelling, August uses music to paint a landscape in which she embodies authentic expression. Her music showcases the strength that comes from vulnerability and through the process of writing hopes to gain a deeper understanding of herself with each written lyric.

This past summer August completed recording her debut EP with Women’s Audio Mission (WAM), as part of the Local Sirens series. The project is to be released 2024. Her latest single and music video ‘In the Dark' is out now and available everywhere.

August was recently featured in an article written by KQED and also opened up for Oakland's own Mara Hruby at the New Parish last week.


August, we wish you continued success in your career!

OSA Alumni Spotlight Image
January-February 2024 Alumni Spotlights: Congratulations Miles Quale and Magdalena O'Neal and Chloe Xtina

Chloe Xtina's: "ghost of you," 2023 Sundance Ignite Selection

Literary Arts Alumni becomes 2023 Sundance Fellow
Chloe Xtina's: "ghost of you," 2023 Sundance Ignite Selection

Chloe Xtine Literary Arts alumni image
Today we celebrate Literary Arts alumni, Chloe Xtina, who is a 2023 Sundance Ignite X Adobe Fellow!

Chloe wrote and directed the short films GHOST OF YOU (2023 Sundance Ignite Selection, special screening 2024 Sundance Film Festival) and THE FIRST TASTE (2020 NoBudge Film of the Year).

Her work has been featured in New York Magazine, Variety, Vulture, and TimeOut. Her play 'Joan of Arc in a Supermarket in California' had its Off-Broadway debut this summer in a Brooklyn bodega with a sold-out run and a subsequent sold-out extension. She completed a BA in playwriting from UCLA in 2021. Chloe is based in Brooklyn.

To learn more about "Ghost of You," visit: chloextina.com/Ghost-of-you
 
Congrats on all of your creative work Chloe!

Miles Quale with "crying uncle" Debuts at grand ole opry in Nashville!

OSA Alum Debuts & Tours with Band to Korea & Japan
Miles Quale with "crying uncle" Debuts at grand ole opry in Nashville!

Miles Quale Alumni Spotlight
Congrats to Alumni Miles Quale, one of the founding members of the bluegrass band, Crying Uncle!

Miles (who graduated from OSA in 2022) and his brother Teo (currently in the 12th grade at OSA) founded the band together in 2016 and it initially started as a duo. In 2017 they expand into a four person group and are joined by two other outstanding musicians, Andrew Osborn and Ian Ly.

Crying Uncle is set to have their debut show at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee on February 9th. That show will be followed by a Japan and Korea tour in March 2024.

 
The band has played at venues such as IBMA’s World of Bluegrass Festival, CBA’s Father's Day Bluegrass Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, SF’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Delfest, and Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.

Internationally, the band toured in Japan in 2023 and in 2022, they headlined at Bluegrass in La Roche, France. In 2019, they toured throughout Finland, culminating at Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. In 2018, the band was featured on a TEDTalk by Nashville-based singer/songwriter Phoebe Hunt. Miles was also a proud recipient of the Whippoorwill Arts Fellowship in 2022.

We are so proud of you Miles and Teo!

Magdalena o'neal

2015 Literary Arts Alumni
Magdalena o'neal

Magdalena O
Today we celebrate OSA Literary Arts alumni, Magdalena O'Neal!

 
Magdalena was born and raised in Oakland, California and has always had a unique passion for expressing herself through culinary and literary outlets. The summer of her freshman year of high school she interned at Chez Panisse in their pastry department and it ignited her curiosities in the kitchen. After high school she left Oakland to attend the University of Illinois at their Chicago campus and studied English with a focus on media and professional writing with a minor in social justice and art history.

 
In 2020 she joined the team at Sunset magazine, one of the oldest print publications still in distribution in the United States, as assistant editor. Throughout her year and a half on staff she spearheaded the writing and production of their weekly food and drink newsletter, various print features, and digital stories spanning multiple topics regarding lifestyle and culture.
 
She has since lived in Los Angeles, New York, and Mexico City working as a freelance editor, chef, content creator, and model. In the beginning of 2024 she will be launching a weekly column covering topics of travels, culture, food, fashion, and beyond on the NYC-based website madeintheURL.

Congrats on all of your successes, Magdalena!


December Alumni Spotlights: Jane Handcock, Malachi Del Rosario and Hannah Mayer
jane handcock

jane handcock

Jane Handcock Alumni Shot
Huge congrats to OSA Vocal alumni Jane Handcock (née Myariah Summers)@msjanehandcock for her 8 Emmy nominations on her work on Disney andMarvel's "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur"! Jane has been developing her multifaceted talents since the age of three. First becoming captivated by the healing power of music through attending church with her family as a young girl growing up in the Bay Area, Jane quickly discovered her passion for music. She went on to attend the reputed Oakland School for the Arts, further solidifying how she was destined to pursue a creative path. After her foundation-building years in high school, Jane began extending her network, going on to capture the attention and mentorship of GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter and producer Raphael Saadiq, who later dubbed her as a "musical medium," noting her mercurial ability to translate raw emotions into vibrant, honest and polished lyricism.
 
Jane extended her client list to include a slew of household names, such as Kelly Rowland (landing a career-defining placement on her 2013 solo album Talk A Good Game), Big K.R.I.T., Keke Palmer, Rick Ross, Tank, Dr. Dre, Ma$e and Warren G, Damian Lillard (aka Dame D.O.L.L.A.), Snoop Dogg among others. Her work ethic and drive led her to work with famed producers such as Blackstreet's Teddy Riley, Justice League, Harmony Samuels, James Fauntleroy, 1500 or Nothin, Dylan “Sir Dylan” Wiggins, Hit-Boy and Polow tha Don. In November of 2021, Jane featured on Snoop Dogg’s Def Jam [Recordings] compilation album. In closing of 2021, she released another single under Def Jam [in honor of Snoop’s mother], “Til We Meet Again” and a Christmas record “My Only Christmas Wish” on Snoop’s Christmas compilation EP.
 
In April of 2022, Jane was the first woman to release an NFT album in the Metaverse through Gala Music, entitled “World of Women” as the debut of her being announced as the new First Lady of Death Row Records. The “World of Women” album sold out in less than 20 minutes.
 
Congrats, Jane!

Malachi Del Rosario

Malachi Del Rosario

Alumni shot of Malachi Del Rosario, Instrumental Music
Today we celebrate OSA Instrumental alumni, Malachi Del Rosario!
 
Malachi graduated from OSA in 2021 and moved to Boston to study Filmscoring at Berklee College of Music. Through his work and studies in both Instrumental Music and Audio Production and Engineering, Malachi is now composing and creating works that intertwine captivating storytelling with avant garde and experimental musical techniques.
 
One of his most recent works is a collection titled "Insomnia" which is a unique musical exploration of our sleep and the emotional discoveries that come with it.
 
Congrats on your continued work in music, Malachi!

hannah mayer

hannah mayer

Hannah Mayer, Alumni, Instrumental Music
Today we celebrate OSA Instrumental alumni, Hannah Mayer!
 
Hannah, who graduated from OSA in 2020 is a pianist, and composer from El Cerrito, CA. Hannah has been a member of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead, NYO Jazz, and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, and was a YoungArts winner in jazz piano and jazz composition. Hannah has had the honor of performing alongside Chucho Valdes, Melissa Aldana, Sean Jones, Warren Wolf, Etienne Charles, Tim Green, Charenée Wade, and Sharel Cassity, among others.
 
In 2018, Hannah was the composer and music director of a 30-minute musical adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day,” and also loves incorporating music from the Broadway repertoire
into an improvisational context. Hannah currently lives in Baltimore, MD pursing a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies at Peabody Conservatory.
 
Hannah recently released an album entitled "Hannah Mayer and Friends Play Sondheim". Sondheim is one of Hannah’s most significant musical influences, so this project is very special to her. The album features Jett Lim on trombone (another Bay Area native!), Charlie Reichert Powell on guitar, Aidan Taylor on bass, and Koleby Royston on drums. All music is by the great Broadway composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and conveyed through Hannah’s original arrangements.
 
Congrats on your continued work, Hannah!