The lights begin to dim and echoes of applause fill the auditorium as eager students wait impatiently for the musical performance to begin. The dominant, high-pitched screech of the electric guitar rings in students’ ears, but as the spotlight illuminates the stage, there is no student performing. Instead, standing center stage, Latin’s very own computer science teacher Bobby Oommen plays alongside his faculty band, Staff Infection.
Mr. Oommen joined Latin in 2015 as a computer science teacher and has served as Computer Science Chair since 2024. Despite his dedication to teaching computer science, Mr. Oommen has always had a passion for music.
He described how he first started experimenting with instruments. “I started listening to a band called Poison, and I really loved what they were doing on the guitar,” Mr. Oommen said. “I took a class in seventh grade called acoustic guitar and started learning how to play.”
After beginning to develop his guitar skills, Mr. Oommen’s relationship with music blossomed, and he grew to love both music itself and its connection to the audience.
“I love what music does emotionally and how it can communicate so many different emotions,” he said. “But then for me, combining that with performing, I love connecting with audiences, because you can see the emotion they’re experiencing.”
Throughout Mr. Oommen’s educational and professional career, music has continued to play a significant role in his life.
“I had a high school band, [and] we played a lot of different gigs, but we were really bad,” he said. Even now, he finds frequent chances to perform, including at his church, where he plays monthly.
Music has not only shaped Mr. Oommen’s life, but has also influenced his family, creating a home environment filled with enthusiasm for the arts.
“My dad’s interest in music impacted me, because it was the only songs I listened to growing up, and it shaped my music taste,” Mr. Oommen’s son, freshman Josh Oommen, said. “He also encouraged me to play music, specifically drums, piano, or anything else I was interested in playing.”
Mr. Oommen’s passion for music extends into the Latin community as well. Shortly after Mr. Oommen joined the Upper School, he and five of his fellow colleagues combined their musical talents to entertain students outside of the classroom.
“It was a text message sent from [Upper School history teacher Ernesto Cruz] in August of last year where he’s like, ‘Hey, if we want to create a band, we should really start,’” Mr. Oommen said. “And then I just kind of said, ‘We’re going to have to start practicing.’”
Starting from this simple chain of text messages, the band Staff Infection was created and has since become a prominent musical entertainment group at Latin, performing at Gatherings and assemblies for students to enjoy. Mr. Oommen serves as one of the band’s electric guitarists.
“He’s the best musician. Hands down. He knows what he’s doing,” Upper School Visual Arts Department Chair and Staff Infection member Ian Merritt said.
Mr. Oommen’s musical talents has made him a standout member of the band; he has infused the group with top-notch technique, enthusiastic energy, and strong performance skills.
“I love watching Staff Infection play at assemblies,” junior Hadja Barry said. “Especially Mr. Oommen—he sounds amazing, and he knows how to work a crowd and get them to interact, which I love about his performances.”
However, while most students enjoy watching the faculty band perform, Mr. Oommen’s son doesn’t always find it entertaining.
“I think Staff Infection is great, and it is fun to watch in assembly. But when [my dad] does something corny, it is pretty embarrassing sometimes,” Josh said.
Beyond performing, the band has given its members the opportunity to build friendships through a shared love of music.
“It’s a blast performing with [Mr. Oommen],” Mr. Merritt said. “There are things that he’s really good [at] that are different than things that I’m really good at. We also have a lot of crossover where we love and have grown up on the same music, and you don’t always find [that] with people, especially in a workplace.”
The faculty members of Staff Infection have also used the band as a chance to show students a different side of themselves and embrace their interests with the kids they teach every day.
“I think it was an opportunity for all of us to do something we love, which is play music,” Mr. Merritt said. “And so a big part of it was just an outlet: having fun with people we know, playing music we love, deciding how we can impress students—or at least show them that we are also into things that hopefully they might be into.”
In addition to showing students a more human side of teachers, the band hopes to encourage students to express their own talents without fear of embarrassment.
“It’s emotionally risky; people could make fun of you. For us it’s just like, ‘let’s go out there, we love playing music,’ and hopefully be an example for other kids to come up and just perform,” Mr. Oommen said. “I feel like there’s a good culture of kids getting up on stage and not feeling embarrassed or ashamed to do that, so we wanted to add to that.”
Mr. Oommen’s impressive musical abilities and dedication to the band have helped Staff Infection to thrive even though the band formed less than a year ago. His plans for the band’s future look bright.
“I anticipate we’re going to play something for Class Day. I am hoping that we can introduce Staff Infection to larger Latin events,” he said, “where parents and alumni are there. I think it’d be cool to perform for them to, for them to like get a glimpse of, ‘Oh, these are the teachers that teach my kids.’”
