ensemblePROVA was started in 2019 as a foray into contemporary music for four of our very adventurous students -- Amber Chen, Annie Debreu, William Liu, and Leila Wu. We began with the mission of exposing our students to modern music and performance techniques, and so their assigned pieces required them to go beyond traditional repertoire and means of sound production. Aside from new and novel harmonies and sound colors, you'll hear them play inside the piano, on a piano prepared with nuts, bolts, rubber mutes, and on a toy piano. You'll even hear a performance that doesn't involve a piano at all!

PCM is excited to welcome Cindy as our new Operations Manager! Cindy has spent over 23 years as a home school educator. In addition to successfully educating her own children from birth through university level, she developed curricula for other homeschoolers based on their individual needs and circumstances. Her children’s passion for music led her to become immersed in the classical music scene, from early childhood music lessons to national and international solo and chamber music competitions.

Every year, piano students participate in a department-wide, yearlong event: Composer of the Year (COTY). Students learn at least one piece by the selected composer, which students perform as part of their annual jury in the spring and throughout the year at student recitals, studio and department recitals, ArtNight Pasadena, and other school and community events. Coinciding with his 250th birthday, this year’s composer is Ludwig van Beethoven.

As one of the ways to celebrate PCM’s graduating seniors -- in a year when traditional senior recitals and other in-person graduation festivities were not an option -- we offered all of our seniors the opportunity to be filmed performing in Barrett Hall. The hope was that we’d be able to present a group senior recital in the same manner that we’d filmed and presented faculty concerts while the campus was shut down.