Public Conservatory of Music in Oakland is unlike any other

Oakland Tribune, Aug 25, 2006 by Cecily Burt, STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- It's off-season at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music on Franklin Street, and at first the place seems strangely empty.

Then somewhere a door opens and there's a burst of sound: piano, congas, drums, sax.

A different door reveals the soft strums of a guitar. Behind another someone is singing.

To hear Angela Wellman tell it, the new Oakland Public Conservatory of Music -- the first of its kind in the country -- is the culmination of a lifelong dream of the founders, of which she is one and pianist Regina Schaffer is the other.

The goal of the conservatory is in many ways like most others: To offer high quality preparatory music education to young people and adults, from novices to professionals seeking to take their skills to the next level.

But the Oakland conservatory is unique in its goal to make that education affordable and to include courses that focus on a wide variety of music and teaching styles.

The course offerings are as varied and diverse as the Oakland population, taught by a veritable who's who of musicians and educators from Oakland and around the country.

Some learned on the streets, some have two or three degrees. Wellman is a jazz musician, but that is not the conservatory's focus.

"People are frustrated by the music education setup -- students and teachers," Wellman said. "Here they can experiment and try things they've never done before."

The whole idea seems to have been blessed by the spirits of musicians past, as every hurdle fell away.

Wellman and Schaffer first met to discuss the concept two years ago and quickly determined their goals would mesh.

Schaffer hoped to bring high-quality conservatory musical education to young people.

Wellman wanted that too, and to bring light to the roots and influences of American music.

With the help of a consultant, they found the perfect space downtown that years ago was a dance ballroom. They opened the doors for private lessons last October, and conservatory classes started in January.

Eventually, the goal is to have the institution accredited. And if things go well in Oakland, they would like to open more public conservatories in other urban areas.

"I said, 'OK, Regina, what's your blue sky, without thinking about what it would cost.' We made a pact we would do this no matter what people think or say," Wellman said.

Wellman is a professional trombonist who traces her jazz roots to her musical family in Kansas City, Mo. S

he is on a mission to preserve and promote the diversity of what she calls the "Oakland sound," with roots from Africa, Cuba, Japan, Europe -- south, east, north and west -- filtered and reinterpreted by the musicians who call Oakland home, she said.

From marimba and blues harmonica to classical quartets, it is all there, tucked behind a nondescript storefront on Franklin Street. There are vocal classes, jazz theory classes, jazz for strings, beginning guitar, beginning songwriting, string quartet improv for classical players, Caribbean percussion and others too numerous to list.

Two new courses illustrate the spectrum. For example, a course in classical European music will see students dressing in period costumes to help them understand the era of Mozart and his contemporaries.

A course on the fundamentals of koto, an ancient Japanese stringed instrument, will be taught by Oakland musician Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, leader of the Murasaki Ensemble.

"We're not a jazz school, we're a conservatory of music," Wellman said. "You can learn Mozart, you can study T-Bone Walker. We're going to offer an Irish folk music class.

"I would hope the conservatory would be a place where people (of all backgrounds) can come together and connect,," Wellman said.

On a recent afternoon, the main performance space was filled with marimbas being played by students who first learned the xylophonelike instrument in an after-school program at ASCEND.

For more information about registering for classes or private lessons at the conservatory, call (510) 836-4949 or http:// www.opcmusic.org. The conservatory is at 1616 Franklin St.

Some faculty were rehearsing in a soundproof room down the hall, and Wellman was giving a private guitar lesson to Bettina Roth in yet another room.

"I think it's a good school because it offers instruction in marimba, but also violin and drums and band," said Kimberly Rodriguez, 12, a student at ASCEND who is also a scholarship student at the conservatory. "It's a good opportunity if you want to know other types of music."

Rodriguez also plays flute and violin.

Her mom, Claudia Rodriguez, said the conservatory has given the kids a wonderful opportunity to develop their musical interests.

"It's amazing. I like it because they are able to keep going with whatever they like," she said. "They are learning so many different things."

For more information about registering for classes or private lessons at the conservatory, call (510) 836-4949 or http:// www.opcmusic.org. The conservatory is at 1616 Franklin St.