Oscar Pangilinan

Saxophonist Oscar Pangilinan is a performer, educator, and community organizer in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a performing member with the ensemble The SJZ Collective, an international touring ensemble comprising teaching artists from the San Jose Jazz Summer Camp. Their 2019 tour included performances at Motion Blue in Yokohoma, the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival, and the Blue Note in Taipei, Taiwan. Oscar is also an in-demand educator and woodwind coach with over 15 years’ experience. He works with the Alum Rock Jazz Band and has been a faculty member at San Jose Jazz’s summer camps since 2009. As a community organizer, Oscar leads a team of volunteers that organize a weekly session held at the Five Points Bar in San Jose. This session has featured over 50 unique artists as bandleaders, with over 250 hours of music performances since June of 2018. Oscar holds a B.M. in Jazz Studies from San Jose State University, where he studied under Dr. Aaron Lington as well as Jason Lewis, Wayne Wallace, and the late Frank Sumares.

MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST

What did the Fellowship or Laureate mean to you at the time you received it?

What do you do now? Has your art evolved or changed?

What is one piece of advice you would give to an emerging artist?

Briefly, how would you describe the state of the arts locally, as well as national and beyond?