Three elderly musicians playing violin
Two adult women playing ukulele and laughing

Adult Studies

In addition to individual instruction on all instruments, PCM has a vibrant and growing slate of group classes, ensembles, and music history and appreciation offerings for adults.

  • Individual Instruction
  • Group Lessons & Ensembles
  • Music History & Appreciation

Click on individual departments below or call the PCM office at 626.683.3355 for more information.

Ensemble Offerings

PCM offers a number of opportunities to perform with other musicians. Please call 626.683.3355 for more information.

Chamber Music

November 30, 2023 – February 29, 2024
Thursdays: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Instructor: Erika Walczak
Tuition: $480

July 11 – August 15, 2024
Thursdays: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Instructor: Erika Walczak and Simone Vitucci
Tuition: $240

For adults new to string instruments, this class will focus on fundamentals: tone production, intonation, reading and playing in an ensemble setting.

November 30, 2023 – February 29, 2024
Thursdays: 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Instructor: Erika Walczak
Tuition: $480

July 11 – August 15, 2024
Thursdays: 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Instructor: Erika Walczak and Simone Vitucci
Tuition: $240

Students acquire ensemble chops while learning just enough about music theory, history, ear training, and healthy practice habits to support their development as a whole musician.

November 29, 2023 – February 28, 2024
Wednesdays 5:30 – 6:30pm
Instructor: Barbara Mullens Geier
Tuition: $336

Students in the adult flute ensemble will have the opportunity to sight read, develop better listening skills, improve rhythmic accuracy, and learn and perform ensemble repertoire.

November 29, 2023 – February 28, 2024
Wednesdays: 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Bryan Fasola
Tuition: $480

June 12 – July 31, 2024
Wednesdays: 7:15 – 8:45 pm
Instructor: Dr. Bryan Fasola
Tuition: $320

This is a performance-oriented ensemble for adult amateurs led by a conductor.

The group studies and performs original and arranged works with two to four instruments per part. Audition required.

Please contact the office to enroll: music@pasadenaconservatory.org or 626-683-3355.

Jazz Combos

December 2, 2023 – March 2, 2024
Saturdays: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
or 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Tuition: $480

June 15 – August 10
Saturdays: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm or 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Tuition: $320

Students learn to play jazz and blues standards in an ensemble setting. Through guided listening, students learn about melody, arrangements, chords, scales, and jazz improvisation.

Please contact the office to enroll: music@pasadenaconservatory.org or 626-683-3355.

Recorder

November 30, 2023 – February 29, 2024
Thursdays: 9:30 – 11:00 am
Instructor: Rachael Doudrick
Tuition: $216

Students play soprano, alto, and tenor recorders in small consorts, with an emphasis on individual musicianship within the ensemble. Students explore music written and arranged for the recorder, from early music of the Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary arrangements of popular music.

Voice

November 30, 2023 – February 29, 2024
Thursdays: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Instructors: Dr. Joshua Tan
Tuition: $216

Glee Club members have fun while learning about proper vocal health, choir etiquette, and how to read music through the study of solfège and ear training.

The club ventures through various genres of choral repertoire including classical, contemporary, jazz, and musical theater.

World Music

November 28, 2023 – February 27, 2024
Tuesdays: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Instructor: Sarah Bauzá
Tuition: $216

Mariachi Pasadena! students learn to play and sing mariachi standards in an ensemble setting. This includes learning songs and instrumental tunes from all over Mexico and Latin America. Adult and youth ages 12+.

Spring History Courses

March 22 – May 31, 2024
Fridays: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Oliver Greene
Tuition: $320

Popular music in the 1990s represented a period of musical fusion and the acceptance of recent styles of music previously considered to be fads. Contemporary R&B, Rock, Country, Pop, and Rap were the most popular styles of the decade. Noted R&B vocalists included Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men, and Destiny’s Child. Popular rock bands included Nirvana, R.E.M., U2, Aerosmith, and the Beastie Boys. Celebrated Pop artists of the decade included the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and Jennifer Lopez. Country music in the 90s featured hits by The Judds, Garth Brooks, Alabama, and Shania Twain. Regional styles of Rap evolved, resulting in the East Coast – West Coast feud and the murders of two major artists: Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac. The 90s also produced celebrated rappers like Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Jay-Z, and female rappers like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, and vocalist Lauryn Hill. This course provides an overview of the music of these artists while discussing social, cultural, and political issues that influenced them.

March 4 – April 15, 2024 (No class March 25)
Mondays: 9:30 – 11:00 am
Instructor: Dr. Vatché Mankerian
Tuition: $144

One might argue that with its opening titanic singular c minor chord, Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata not only may have heralded the arrival of the Romantic movement, but also established a tradition of composing monumental works for the piano repertoire. These are works that are not only monumental in scope and size, but also especially prodigious in their musical depth and weight. Since then, many composers have followed with such works for an instrument that has yet to lose its popularity and importance in the music world. The course focuses on such works as Beethoven’s Appasionata, Chopin’s Sonatas 2 and 3, Liszt’s Sonata, Schumann’s Symphonic Études, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, and Prokofiev’s “War” Sonatas. This course culminates in a bonus concert featuring a sampler of monumental works covered in the class.

April 11 – May 30, 2024
Thursdays: 9:30 – 11:45 am
Instructor: Dr. Nic Gerpe
Tuition: $256

First given in 1943, the Pulitzer Prize for Music has been awarded “For distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year.” This course will trace the history of the pieces and composers who have won the award, the influence and aesthetics of those works and composers, and some of the controversies surrounding the Prize. From well-known composers such as Aaron Copland and Charles Ives to recent artists like Jennifer Higdon, Anthony Davis, and Ellen Reid, this class will cover an amazing spectrum of American musical voices and styles.

Summer History Courses

June 10 – July 15
Mondays: 9:30 – 11:00 am
Instructor: Dr. Vatché Mankerian
Tuition: $144

With the release of The Beatles’ astounding album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the path of Rock music changed, at least for the next two decades. The term concept album came to be utilized and with the development of what came to be known as Classic Rock, the music world saw the creation of some formidable as well as interesting albums from the late 1960’s to late 1980’s or so. The course will discuss the contributions of rock bands such as Pink Floyd; RUSH; Emerson, Lake and Palmer; ELO; Alan Parsons Project; Supertramp; up to Linkin Park, and others, who have recorded at least one influential and what some may call “timeless” classic rock albums.

June 20 – August 1 (No class on July 4)
Thursdays: 9:30 – 11:45 am
Instructor: Dr. Nic Gerpe
Tuition: $192

Bach. Beethoven. Brahms. Everyone knows “The Three B’s”. But which other composers can lay claim to the “Great B” title? We’ll travel throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries to uncover masterworks by a bevy of brilliant (musical) brains, including Bartok, Berlioz, Britten, Bernstein, and more!

Student Voices