With a sea of people in front of him, Mikey Oscar looks around with a rather nervous glance. He turns to Mr. Daniel Tumolo, his Comprehensive Music Technology teacher, who gives him a nod of approval. The guitar riff begins, the drums go off, and Oscar raises the microphone to his lips. He closes his eyes and, with a smile, dives into the song.

“Performing is my key to happiness,” declared Oscar.

The senior musician has had plenty of opportunities to perform in North Penn High School, with his involvement with chorus, his own band, and Comprehensive Music Technology class (CMT).

“CMT is comprehensive music technology,” Oscar explained. “It’s the class where you take bunch of kids who play instruments and stuff like that, put them in the same room, and see what happens. We do a lot of covers and we perform at like the winter concert, and at the end of the year, we get to perform in lunchrooms. It’s kind of like the School of Rock and I think it’s one of the coolest things the school does actually.”

Besides his performances with chorus and CMT, Oscar’s band also had a chance to play at this year’s Winter Ball.

“[Class of 2017 advisor] Mr. [Chris] Frey came up to me about a month prior (to Winter Ball),” remembered Oscar, “and he knew about our band. He came up to me and said ‘listen, I’m really interested in what you guys can do,’ so we tried out.”

“It was the one of the best experiences I’ve ever had show-wise because I can say that my first show with my acoustic band was at North Penn, at Winter Ball. Not many bands can say that and I think it was one of the best opportunities I’ve ever had. Nerve-wracking, but after the first song, it went well.”

Despite his success as a performer, Oscar was a late bloomer.

“I didn’t start singing until about two years ago,” explained Oscar. “I was just listening to the music and I started singing to myself and I could hit the notes that I didn’t think I could. So I started doing more and more and practiced a lot. I started to put myself out there more and it was still nerve wracking but I think it was worth it because I love it now.”

Overcoming his rather delayed entrance to the world of performance, the North Penn senior is not afraid to push himself to be on the stage. He was previously involved in Block Nine, a rap group formed by four North Penn students, and looks forward to continuing perform in his band, Orvilla. As his reputation and confidence grow, Oscar looks to continue his musical journey beyond high school.

“I actually (had) people come up to me and told me to audition for Berklee and all these other music schools,” laughed Oscar. “Random people were telling me that I should go to college for this. I wasn’t intending on it, but the more I think about it, more people push me to do it. They’re going to push me further than I can ever go myself. Them telling me that I should do that, to me, is a sign that I should put myself out there more. I want to pursue this as long as I can, no matter what it takes, [no matter] how much money I have to spend, I don’t care.”

Through it all, Oscar has kept his focus.

“My goal as a singer is to make people happy. I’ve been told I make people happy when I sing, and that makes me happy to know that.”

“I think performing just takes me out of the comfort zone. Nowadays, people are focused on homework and school work, but when I’m on stage, with a microphone, or when I’m singing in general, it takes me away from being a nobody to somebody.”

However, perhaps the biggest fans of Oscar are also some of the biggest motivations that drive Oscar to continue to pursue his goal.

“My father was also a musician,” commented Oscar, “but he never got as far as I did. He keeps pushing me. He told me the other night that he was proud of me and just told me to keep going. I love all my supports from my friends and family. Just last month, I’ve gotten so much support from random people who would come up to me and say things to me. If it wasn’t for those supporters, this wouldn’t have happened.”