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
Summer Quarter: June 8 – August 16, 2026
Fall Semester: August 31, 2026 – January 24, 2027
Chamber Music
Fall Semester: September 3, 2026 – January 21, 2027
Thursdays: 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Instructors: Erika Walczak and Peter Jacobson
Tuition: $810 (Material Fee: $15 per semester)
Summer: July 9 – August 13, 2026
Thursdays: 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Instructor: Erika Walczak and Peter Jacobson
Tuition: $252
Students acquire ensemble technique while learning just enough about music theory, history, ear training, and healthy practice habits to support their development as a whole musician.
Fall Semester: September 3, 2026 – January 21, 2027
Thursdays: 2:45 – 4:15 pm
Instructors: Erika Walczak and Peter Jacobson
Tuition: $810 (Material Fee: $15 per semester)
Summer: July 9 – August 13, 2026
Thursdays: 2:30 – 4:00 pm
Instructors: Erika Walczak and Peter Jacobson
Tuition: $252
For adults new to string ensemble, this class focuses on fundamentals: tone production, intonation, reading, and playing in an ensemble setting.
Fall Semester: September 2, 2026 – January 20, 2027
Wednesdays: 7:15 – 8:45 pm
Instructor: Dr. Bryan Fasola
Tuition: $810
Summer: June 24 – August 12, 2026
Wednesdays: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Conductors: Dr. Bryan Fasola
Tuition: $336
The Adult Guitar Ensemble gives guitarists the rare but exciting opportunity to play orchestral repertoire on the classical guitar in a group setting. Rehearsals are focused on preparing for a public concert. All guitarists with some music reading abilities are welcome to join with minimum audition requirements. Please contact the PCM office at music@pasadenaconservatory.org or 626.683.3355 for more information.
Piano
Fall Semester: September 2, 2026 – January 20, 2027
Mondays: 5:30 – 6:30 pm
or Wednesdays: 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Instructor: Yi-Ju Lai (Mondays) and Nic Gerpe (Wednesdays)
Tuition: $396 (Material Fees: $20)
Summer: June 8 – July 29, 2026
Mondays: 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Or Wednesdays: 6:45 – 7:45 pm
Instructor: Dr. Yi-Ju Lai (Monday) and Dr. Nic Gerpe (Wednesday)
Tuition: $160
This course provides an introduction to piano playing in a group setting using digital keyboards and is designed for beginners with little to no prior experience. With an emphasis on ensemble playing, ear training, and building confidence through a collaborative and supportive learning environment; students develop fundamental keyboard skills, including note reading, rhythm, hand coordination, and basic music theory. All classes take place in the Technology Lab of the Learning Center.
Fall Semester: August 31, 2026 – January 18, 2027
Mondays: 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Instructor: Yi-Ju Lai
Tuition: $396 (Material Fees: $20)
This course is designed for students who have completed Sound Beginnings or have some prior piano experience and are looking to continue their musical journey in a collaborative, group setting. Building on foundational skills, students deepen their musicianship through more advanced repertoire, refined technique, and greater independence between hands. With a continued emphasis on ensemble playing, ear training, and supportive group learning, students expand their understanding of music theory and expressive playing. All classes take place in the Technology Lab of the Learning Center. The final class meeting features an opportunity for students to showcase their growth and progress.
Jazz
Fall Semester: August 31, 2026 – January 20, 2027
Mondays: 2:00 – 3:30 pm or 6:30 – 8:00 pm
or Tuesdays: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
or Wednesdays: 7:15 – 8:45 pm
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Tuition: $810
Summer: June 8 – August 15, 2026
Mondays: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
or Wednesdays: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
or Thursdays: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
or Saturdays: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Tuition: $336
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.
July 27 – 31, 2026
Monday – Friday: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Tuition: $895
Students will participate daily in Jazz Combo rehearsal, Jazz Theory and Ear Training, Jazz Improvisation, and Jazz History class. The end of the week intensive will culminate in a Friday evening performance by all participants. Daily Instrument Feature of Piano, Bass, Drums, Guitar & Saxophone.
Vocal Arts
Fall Semester: September 3, 2026 – January 21, 2027
Thursdays: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Instructor: Dr. Joshua Tan
Tuition: $450 (Material Fee: $15 per semester)
Glee Club members have fun while learning about proper vocal health and technique, 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.
Fall Semester: September 3, 2026 – January 21, 2027
Thursdays: 10:00 – 10:45 am
Instructor: Dr. Joshua Tan
Tuition: $306 (Material Fee: $15 per semester)
Love to sing and eager to keep growing? Join Chamber Singers, a vibrant, close-knit group of dedicated singers selected from PCM’s larger Glee
Club program. Just like the full ensemble, you’ll find a fun, friendly, and encouraging atmosphere, but with fewer singers per part you’ll have even more opportunities to strengthen your musicality and vocal independence. Enjoy focused individual feedback during rehearsals and take part in additional performances and community events that let your voice truly shine.
Concurrent enrollment in the Glee Club (Thursdays from 11am – 12:30pm) and consistent attendance throughout the season is required.
Woodwinds, Brass, & Percussion
Fall Semester: September 3, 2026 – January 21, 2027
Thursdays: 9:30 – 11:00 am
Instructor: Rachael Denny
Tuition: $450 (Material Fee: $15 per semester)
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.
Fall Semester: September 3, 2026 – January 1, 2027
Thursdays: 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Instructor: Rachael Denny
Tuition: $396 (Materials Fee: $15 per semester)
This class welcomes adult beginners and returning players alike, exploring a variety of music in a supportive, light-hearted ensemble. The recorder is a simple flute with many possibilities—come play in good company!
Fall Semester: September 3, 2026 – January 21, 2027
Thursdays: 7:30 – 8:30 pm
Instructor: Mike Zonshine
Tuition: $810
Whether you are an active player or dusting off your instrument after a hiatus, this is a safe, positive, and challenging place for improving your performance. Everyone is welcome: from “comeback players” and weekend warriors, to post-high school and college musicians looking to test their brass mettle.
Weekly activities include group warm-ups, expressive lyricism, and ensemble rehearsals. In group warm-ups, students work on targeted technical exercises to build and maintain their skills. Through expressive lyricism, they play music originally written for vocalists to develop a more lyrical, expressive instrumental style. Ensemble rehearsals focus on performing repertoire written or arranged expressly for the group’s brass instrumentation.
Contact the PCM office at music@pasadenaconservatory.org or 626.683.3355 for more information.
July 20 – 22, 2026
Monday – Wednesday: 3:00 – 6:00 pm
Instructor: Johanna Borenstein
Tuition: $395
Flute Camp focuses on flute fundamentals, breathing, tone production, technique, articulation, and interval training. Led by PCM faculty Johanna Borenstein, the camp features a master class by Heather Clark, principal flautist for the Pasadena and Long Beach symphonies. This camp also features a small repair and maintenance class. There will be etude studies, practice techniques, and chamber music. All students will play in a Flute choir.
Ages 12+ are invited to enroll.
Fall Semester: September 2 –January 20, 2026
Wednesdays: 5:30 –6:30 pm
Instructor: Barbara Mullens Geier
Tuition: $576 (Matero
Students in the adult flute ensemble have the opportunity to sight read, develop better listening skills, improve rhythmic accuracy, and learn and perform ensemble repertoire.
Contact the PCM office at music@pasadenaconservatory.org or 626.683.3355 for more information.
World Music
Fall Semester: September 6, 2026 – January 24, 2027
Sundays: 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Instructors: Celia Yu Liu, Susan She, and Xiaobo Li
Tuition: $900
This course offers an immersive introduction to Chinese folk music through hands-on study of the pipa, guzheng, or erhu. Students choose one instrument (provided free for the first quarter of instruction) and explore the historical and cultural contexts of regional Chinese musical traditions while developing fundamental performance techniques. Emphasis is placed on listening, imitation, ensemble playing, and expressive interpretation.
No prior experience with Chinese instruments is required. Students have 50 minutes of instrument-specific instruction in a group setting followed by a 60-minute rehearsal combining all three instruments to create a Chinese folk ensemble.
Fall Semester: September 4, 2026 – January 22, 2027
Fridays: 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Instructor: Natalie Brejcha
Tuition: $810
Summer: June 20 – July 25, 2026
Saturdays: 10:00 – 11:30 am
Instructor: Natalie Brejcha
Tuition: $210
Come make music with your peers in a relaxed but lively setting where everyone—from the beginner to the seasoned expert—can participate at their level of ability and comfort. Together students discover and play folk music from around the world starting with American Roots Music (Fiddle tunes, Bluegrass, Country, and Blues).
The ensemble is open to all instruments—but particularly chorded instruments like acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and solo instruments like violin, viola, and cello. This class is most suitable for students who can play at least C G D A E chords on their instruments or are comfortable learning melodies by ear.
Fall Semester: September 1, 2026 – January 19, 2027
Tuesdays: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Instructor: TBD
Tuition: $450
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+.
*Summer offering available
Adult History Offerings
Fall Semester: September 18 – December 11, 2026
Fridays: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Oliver Greene
Tuition: $350
Since the 1920s, Broadway musicals have played an integral part in entertaining America and expressing the ideals of major social and cultural movements. This course examines the music and themes of the most influential musicals of the past 100 years including No, No, Nanette (1925), Lady, Be Good! (1924), Of Thee I Sing (1931), Anything Goes (1934), Carmen Jones (1943), Annie Get Your Gun (1946), South Pacific (1949/1950s), The Music Man (1957), Hello Dolly (1964), The Sound of Music (1965), Grease (1972), The Wiz (1975), Dreamgirls (1981), Into the Woods (1987), Beauty and the Beast (1994), Ragtime (1998), Hairspray (2002), The Color Purple (2005), Book of Mormon (2011), and Dear Evan Hansen (2016).
Enrollment in Part I is not a prerequisite to participate.
October 3, 2026 – May 1, 2027
First Saturdays: 4:00 – 6:15 pm (Oct 3, Nov 7, Dec 5, Feb 6, Apr 3, May 1)
Instructor: Dr. Nic Gerpe
Tuition: $210
The 20th century was a period of remarkable innovation in Western Classical Music. Composers from around the globe embraced a spirit of experimentation, and explored myriad new ways of organizing and making sound, often calling into question the very definition of the term “music.”
The slew of musical innovations from the early and mid-20th century carry on into the language of today’s composers. In this class, we explore many of these remarkable musical techniques, including extended and non-traditional instrumental techniques, electronic music, microtonality, mathematical music, the integration of folk music and the intersection of film and concert music. This course features lectures and live demonstrations by a brilliant array of guest artists who specialize in the music of our time.
Theory Courses
Fall Semester: September 8, 2026 – January 19, 2027
Tuesdays: 2:15 – 3:15 pm
Instructor: Dr. Kathryn Eames
Tuition: $374
Using Basics of Keyboard Theory curriculum, students refresh their knowledge and expand their horizons through sequenced instruction in music theory. This course is for beginners through intermediate singers and players. A “Basics of Keyboard Theory” book* is required ($13.95).
*Materials can be purchased in the front office or at various online retailers
Fall Semester: September 8, 2026 – January 19, 2027
Tuesdays: 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Instructor: Dr. Kathryn Eames
Tuition: $180
Work through the Basics of Keyboard Theory curriculum at your own pace with guidance from an instructor. Designed for adults with current or past musical experience, students begin with a brief placement assessment to find the right starting point and progress at their own level from there. A “Basics of Keyboard Theory” book* is required ($13.95).
*Materials can be purchased in the front office or at various online retailers
Fall Semester: August 31, 2026 – January 18, 2027
Mondays: 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Tuition: $180
Summer: June 13 – August 15, 2026
Saturdays: 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Tuition: $160
For beginner and intermediate students, this class includes ear training on intervals, triads, and 7th chords. Shelly Berg’s “Essentials of Jazz Theory” provides lessons on scales, chord patterns, and soloing directly applicable to jazz standards. Students bring their instruments (pianos provided) and receive weekly practice assignments tailored to their experience level.
*Summer offering available
Student Voices
Julia Langer
When I retired, I moved to Pasadena and my son said, “Mom, if you would learn to play the cello, we could have a string quartet!” My three granddaughters were taking violin and viola lessons at PCM, so I was already impressed with the quality of PCM’s programming and instructors. In December 2012, I began cello lessons. While studying music has its own intrinsic rewards, my cello studies have opened up a whole new arena of student experiences to share with my granddaughters. I strive to be a good “music student” model for them; and they, in turn, become my teachers from time to time. I have also discovered that one is never too old to begin a completely new challenge.
Ralph Miles
I think PCM is an organization that Pasadena needs. It makes a difference. I love my weekly piano lessons and want to help make sure the Conservatory can serve our community well into the future.
Eric Chadwick
Cello has been the next chapter of music for me, having focused mostly on vocal studies in my high school and college years. While I decided to learn cello for my own development and enjoyment, the highlight has been sharing in my son’s journey in learning the cello at the same time. He has studied from a young age, but now we often practice and learn together. We have both advanced to the point where we can enjoy cello duets and trios with our instructor, in addition to our solo repertoire.