Arts and Culture
Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, PIC Lead Effort to Save East Oakland Martial Arts School
For over 50 years Sifu Bill and Mary Owens have owned and operated Cascos Martial Arts Academy in East Oakland. They have specialized in teaching self-defense, cultural awareness, educational values, and self-confidence to students of all ages. But the COVID-19 pandemic has nearly brought down the dojo located at 7415 MacArthur Blvd.
By Post Staff
For over 50 years Sifu Bill and Mary Owens have owned and operated Cascos Martial Arts Academy in East Oakland.
They have specialized in teaching self-defense, cultural awareness, educational values, and self-confidence to students of all ages. But the COVID-19 pandemic has nearly brought down the dojo located at 7415 MacArthur Blvd.
The Owens hoped that students would return after the shutdown and they did, but not in the numbers they had before. Having prided himself for never turning away a student who could not pay, last summer Bill Owens found himself far behind on his mortgage.
Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley helped them secure a small grant to try to recover from the pandemic, but they have been served with a foreclosure notice anyway.
Miley has again responded by making a $5,000 donation to the Private Industry Council (PIC), which will, in turn, provide aid to the dojo. The Oakland Post is planning to match Miley’s contribution.
Post Publisher Paul Cobb said he will help Miley and PIC Executive Director Ray Lankford raise the funds to prevent the dojo from closing.
“We must fight for constructive programs to save our youth in the same manner that the community rallied to raise more than $80,000 to prevent foreclosure of the North Oakland Baptist Church’s properties,” Cobb said.
The Cascos Martial Art Academy has been recognized as being an integral part of Oakland’s history and has received hundreds of trophies and awards for being one of the longest-running martial arts schools in California.
In addition to traditional martial arts training, they also teach OFA, which is short for Ofanics.
OFA is a unique, evolutionary martial art form taught nowhere else in the world, as it was created and developed over many years at Cascos Martial Arts Academy.
The techniques taught and used within the exercises and drills fuse the beautiful art of Chinese Kung Fu with African American culture, where each self-defense or fighting stroke becomes a rhythmic musical delivery.
On June 25, 2021, Congresswoman Barbara Lee of Oakland wrote a letter acknowledging the immensely positive impact that Cascos Martial Art Academy has had on the community.
Bill and Mary have also received commendations from members of the California State Assembly for exemplary teaching and support for the youth in the community. Having served more than 6,000 students, the couple’s impact is not just local but worldwide.
The Owens’ are asking the community to help them preserve this legacy by inviting the public to attend and participate in the free, self-defense program called “Black Girls Missing,” which is designed for young girls and women of all ages. This program builds self-confidence, self-appreciation, self-discipline, and awareness.
The first class and kick-off of the “Black Girls Missing Program” will be held Sat. Nov. 11, from 7-9 p.m. at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle at 410 14 St. in Oakland CA. It’s a workshop and a party. Wear something comfortable.
Arts and Culture
Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
By Post Staff
The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.
Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.
Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.
Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.
The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.
Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.
Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”
Arts and Culture
Faces Around the Bay Dr. Carl Blake, Pianist
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999. One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
By Barbara Fluhrer
Born in Liberty, Missouri, Carl Blake, a virtuoso and respected pianist, made his most recent migration to the East Bay in 1999.
One might have seen him performing recently at Noontime Concerts in San Francisco, or at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Oakland. He is Director of Music at The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco. He was also co-organizer and collaborative pianist at Herbst Theater for The Majesty of the Spirituals concert in 2022 and has held several church positions in the Bay Area.
Blake obtained a Bachelor of Music from Boston University and continued post-baccalaureate studies in Jamaica before earning a Master of Arts in Music at San Jose State University. He was the recipient of two Fulbright residencies in Honduras and completed a third residency at the University of St. Petersburg in Russia. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University.
At age 19, Blake, then an undergraduate piano major at Boston University, was “discovered” by Impresario Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams, who is the Founder and Director of Today’s Artists/Four Seasons Arts.
Williams honored Blake by awarding him the first Marian Anderson Young Artist Award. Anderson personally presented the award at the Masonic Auditorium in S.F. Subsequently, Blake was presented by Dr. Williams in his San Francisco debut at The Herbst Theatre. Williams subsidized a year of study abroad for Blake at the Paris Conservatory of Music. Additionally, Williams sponsored Blake’s New York Weill Hall debut, where he has performed twice since. Blake performed several times at the Yachats Music Festival in Oregon.
Blake continues to perform nationally and abroad. His hobbies are reading, baking and travel. He says, “I’m still pumping ivories, as Belgian pianist Jeanne Stark described the disciplined practice of concert piano.”
Arts and Culture
Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”
World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city. Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).
By Conway Jones
World-renowned jazz master saxophonist John Handy, a McClymond’s High School graduate, was presented with a Mayor of Oakland Proclamation declaring Feb. 12, as John Handy Day in the city.
Handy is most notably known as the featured saxophonist for Charles Mingus on “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” from the album “Mingus Ah Um” (1959) and on “Hard Work” from his own album “Hard Work” (1976).
“John Handy is a jazz icon and an inspiration to musicians everywhere,” said Ayo Brame, a 16-year-old Oakland tenor saxophone player who is enrolled at the Oakland School for the Arts.
In celebration of this day, the reception in downtown Oakland at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle was a gathering of artists, young and old, coming together in his honor and celebrating his 91st birthday.
Handy presented a Saxophone Colossus free masterclass for musicians. This class afforded a rare opportunity to learn about the saxophone from an aficionado. The class was free and open to all – saxophonists, vocalists, aficionados, students, and casual listeners.
“As a longtime friend for over 60 years, and fellow musician who has had numerous opportunities to share the stage with John, it has always been a pleasure performing with him and hearing his creative interpretations of the music and his gift of ease inspiring the next generation of jazz musicians,” said Roger Glenn, a multi-instrumentalist.
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