Picture taken by Ben Tarquin

Erika Oba is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and educator based in the SF Bay Area. As a composer she has written works for jazz ensembles, chamber groups, dance and theater. She is active as a performer on both piano and flute, and performs with her own groups the Erika Oba Trio, Ends Meat’ Catastrophe Jazz Ensemble, Rice Kings, and The Sl(e)ight Ensemble. She has also performed with Meredith Monk, Frances Wong, Jon Jang, Peter Apfelbaum, Lisa Mezzacappa, Jean Fineberg, Rent Romus, and many other jazz and experimental musicians in the Bay Area. In addition to her own private teaching studio, she is a private jazz piano instructor for UC Berkeley’s Music Department. As an artist, she is interested in exploring ritual, diasporic identities, and community through performance.