History of Oakwood Brass
Founded in 2009 by Artistic Director Darren Dvoracek as a brass chamber group, Oakwood Brass - Outreach Project (OBOP) expanded to include school concerts beginning in 2015. Each year our school programs were evaluated by the principals of our partner schools in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) to develop and refine our current programming: instrument introduction concerts, 50 minute middle school concerts, as well as coaching and side by side mentoring. Beginning with 3 elementary schools and 1 middle school OBOP has developed and expanded our partnerships with schools in the PUSD, adding one to two schools each year, to include 14 schools as of 2021.
In 2015 we became our own non-profit organization. Beginning in 2016 OBOP successfully applied for and was awarded grant funding from the Tournament of Roses Foundation, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, and the Recording Industry's Music Performance Trust Fund. In 2019 we were awarded grants from the California Arts Council and the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of Pasadena. All of these grants provided funding for the artists fees for both the concerts and coaching at individual schools.
OBOP’s mission is to bring the classical and contemporary brass sound to concerts and educational programming within our community. Concert attendees include, but are not limited to, schools with high numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged students, classes of special needs students, seniors, and the community at large. Programs are tailored to audiences and include selections which validate their cultural backgrounds as well as introducing them to new brass music. OBOP hosts community concerts which include commissioned works for OBOP and are open and free to the public.
Board of Directors
Susan Bosch, President
Diana Lee, Vice President
Treasurer, Michael Johnson
Members at Large
Jan Emamian
Susan Goldsmith
Keiko Sakatani
Samantha Stahl
Emeritus
Barbara Barrett Bryne
Advisory Council
Karen Anderson
Shannon Malone
Rita Exposito
Erica Inger
Darren Dvoracek, tuba, is the Artistic and Administrative Director, and founding member, of Oakwood Brass-Outreach Project (OBOP) as well as a freelance musician in Los Angeles. Darren is a proud graduate of Northwestern University where he received his bachelor's degree in music performance and was also the recipient of the distinguished Helen Heim Nichols Scholarship Fund Award. Darren’s teachers include Dr. Douglas Tornquist and Professor Rex Martin at Northwestern University. Other studies have included arts management courses at CCI Arts. Recently Darren graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute for the Arts, where he studied extended technique with Matt Barbier and alternate tuning systems with Wolfgang von Schweinitz. While at CalArts, Darren was the recipient of the prestigious Lillian Disney Scholarship. As Artistic and Administrative Director of OBOP, Darren is part of the management and development team, honing the mission statement, brand, and program content for their In-School and Community Concerts programs while arranging music for the group and creating programs for OBOP. His current duties also include the financial management of OBOP which attained its own 501(c)(3) status in October 2015.
Teresa (Nielsen) Anderson-Dvoracek has a Bachelor’s Degree from CSULA and a Master’s in Fine Arts from CalArts. As a dancer with the Bella Lewitzky company she performed and toured in the initial Artists in the Schools programs in Glendale, California and Columbus, Ohio. After leaving the Lewitzky company Teresa became a teaching artist in dance with the National Endowment for the Arts, Artist In the Schools program with residences in several cities across the nation. Teaching positions in Dance included University of California, Riverside and Los Angeles Harbor College as guest artist and as the dance instructor at Rosemead High School, California. In later years Teresa returned to teaching dance to young students. Interested in how children learn to read and furthering her use of dance/movement as a teaching tool, Teresa became a Kindergarten teacher. As a kindergarten teacher her students were exposed in the classroom to dance as a teaching tool and dance technique. Teresa often included singing and music in her lessons as an additional part of her classroom curriculum. Many of her young students, both boys and girls, continue their interest in the arts as they have moved into college and their careers. Currently Teresa serves as the Executive Director of Oakwood Brass - Outreach Project. Her responsibilities include both program duties such as coordinating and working with schools and concert venues, as well as administrative functions such as overseeing fundraising and board meetings.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement (DEI)
Since its inception in 2009 Oakwood Brass - Outreach Project’s (OBOP) mission has been to bring the classical and contemporary brass sound to concerts and educational programming within our communities. OBOP is strongly committed to providing our community with equitable access to the arts. Concert attendees include, but are not limited to, socioeconomically disadvantaged and special needs students, seniors, and the community at large. Programs are tailored to audiences and include selections which validate their cultural backgrounds as well as engaging classics for brass, compositions written for Oakwood Brass, and popular media music. OBOP hosts community concerts which are open to the public with no charge for admission. Accessibility to quality performances for everyone is an objective of our organization.
Board Members are chosen based upon their commitment to equitable accessibility to quality music performances and education. Financial contributions are not mandatory for board members; volunteer options are welcomed as a contribution to the OBOP organization. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement was developed and has the full support of our board members.
OBOP does not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, creed, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity for any position in its organization be it staff, artist, board member, or volunteer.