Oak Park High welcomes new band teacher

SOPHIA FISCHER Acorn Newspapers MAKING MUSIC- Daniel O'Brien, Oak Park High School's new band teacher, is an accomplished composer, musician and producer. Kids who study music do well in every area of their lives, believes Daniel O'Brien, the new band director at Oak Park High School.

"You can learn many things through music. Through ensembles you learn teamwork; you can also realize individual achievement," O'Brien said.

The new leader of the school's concert band, wind ensemble and two jazz bands wants to impart his passion for music to students.

"Art is one of the things that make life worth living," O'Brien said. "Music can be a lifelong love affair."

O'Brien joined Oak Park in January, replacing the previous director, Tom Pavia.

O'Brien has already made a mark on the program, purchasing a wide range of new sheet music for the bands, from Disney tunes to masterworks by Igor Stravinsky.

He said he hopes to develop a music program that is "right for Oak Park and the kids." Among possibilities he is exploring are a strings program, guitar classes, music theory and production, a marching band and performances during lunchtime.

O'Brien would also like to add recording equipment to the classroom, allowing students to hear themselves play. The jazz bands could also record rhythm sections, allowing musicians to take recordings home to improvise along with the other instruments.

"It's about finding our niche and building on it," O'Brien said.

A guitarist since the age of 6, O'Brien has had a varied music background. He spent 10 years as a composer for independent films such as "Last Train Out"; wrote music for television commercials and shows including "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," and on-air promos for such CBS shows as "Diagnosis Murder" and "David Letterman." O'Brien opened and ran the Music Go Round store in Thousand Oaks for several years and gives private guitar and piano lessons.

He has also worked with a variety of studio ensembles, including the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, London. Last year, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from the California State University at Northridge, and is working toward his teaching credential there. O'Brien has taught film scoring and music production at the Learning Tree University in Los Angeles.

Besides acoustic, classical and electric guitar, O'Brien also plays keyboard orchestral percussion. He lives in Moorpark with his wife and two sons.

"Mr. O'Brien brings to our school countless years of experience in the music industry and natural talent for teaching and relating to young people," Oak Park High School Principal Lynn McCormack said.