Adult Studies
Come be a part of the adult studies community at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music.
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.
PCM offers a number of opportunities to perform with other musicians, including Adult Guitar Orchestra, Piano Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Chamber Music. Please call 626.683.3355 for more information.
Instructor: Rachael Doudrick
Thursdays | 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Students will play soprano, alto, and tenor recorders in small consorts, with an emphasis on individual musicianship within the ensemble. Students will explore the full voice of the instrument through music written and arranged specifically for the recorder, from early music of the Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary arrangements of popular music.
Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Recorder or enrollment during the 2019–2020 school year.
Instructor: Lindsay Dodoras
Mondays | 9:00 – 10:30 am
Musicians will learn ukulele technique and skills while exploring the music of the classic American Songbook to songs of today. Every class includes playing and singing together while increasing musicianship skills and knowledge. No prior music reading or instrument playing skills are required.
Materials required: Soprano or Concert ukulele. Some instruments will be available for purchase from Pasadena Conservatory of Music. Students may decide to acquire their own instrument.
Not offered during summer session.
Instructor: Lindsay Dodoras
Mondays | 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
or
Tuesdays | 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Students will continue their exploration of the American Songbook for ukulele. With classics from Broadway to our favorite jazz standards, they will learn the mechanics behind each of these timeless tunes and how to perform them live. Ukulele players will experiment with song arranging and learn the musical terminology needed to communicate with fellow musicians. From composers such as George and Ira Gershwin to Cole Porter to Rodgers and Hart, we will journey together through the decades of musical genius!
Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Ukulele or enrollment during the 2019–2020 school year.
Instructor: Lindsay Dodoras
Wednesdays | 10:00 – 11:30 am
The Glee Club is the perfect opportunity for you to share your voice with others! Whether you are an experienced choir member or looking to begin singing for the first time, this is your chance to explore vocal technique and music theory through quality choral repertoire. Glee Club members will learn about proper vocal health, choir etiquette, and how to read music through the study of solfeggio and ear training. The club will venture through various genres of choral repertoire including classical, contemporary, jazz, and musical theater! Come one and all to experience the happiness one gets from singing in a choir!
Materials Required: Binder/repertoire/printed matter, as provided by the teacher, $15.00.
Instructor: Rachael Doudrick
Tuesdays | 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Students will learn, create, and perform music in the Orff-Schulwerk style: a process that begins with simple songs, patterns, movement, and body percussion and evolves into feeling-ful, sophisticated music-making within the group. Students will sing, play xylophones and hand percussion, and move with rhythm. Most adults who experience making music using Orff-Schulwerk exclaim, “Why didn’t I learn it this way the first time?” No matter what level of musical experience a student brings to the class, from beginner to amateur to professional, a very satisfying artistic process is enjoyed by all. Students should dress for easy movement and wear comfortable shoes.
Instructor
Thursdays | January 9 – May 24 (two sessions required)
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Join your peers in experiencing the world of musical theater through movement, singing, and acting. All levels of experience are welcome to join! Throughout the process, participants will prepare an original play with music to perform. Those participating can be as involved as they wish or they can choose to not participate in the performance. Either way, they will be utilized throughout the rehearsal process and be learning skills and applying them during rehearsal time. They will learn how to interpret music and lyrics and how to emote their findings through voice and physicality and will gain confidence in themselves as individuals and as an ensemble.
Not offered during summer session.
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Thursdays | 7:15 – 8:15 pm
In the Adult Jazz Combo you will learn to play jazz and blues standards in an ensemble setting. This includes listening to tunes and learning about melody, arrangements, chords, scales, and jazz improvisation. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas and questions to the group to create a collaborative environment.
Students are asked to bring their instruments and supplies (reeds, cords, strings, etc. with the exception of piano, drums, and amplifiers, which will be provided).
Register for the Beginner Jazz Combo here.
Instructor: Sherry Luchette
Thursdays | 12:00 – 1:00 pm
In the Adult Jazz Combo you will learn to play jazz and blues standards in an ensemble setting. This includes listening to tunes and learning about melody, arrangements, chords, scales, and jazz improvisation. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas and questions to the group to create a collaborative environment.
Students are asked to bring their instruments and supplies (reeds, cords, strings, etc. with the exception of piano, drums, and amplifiers, which will be provided).
Register for the Intermediate/Advanced Jazz Combo here.
Instructor: Adam Pettit
Wednesdays | 7:00 – 8:30 pm
This is a performance oriented ensemble for adult amateurs. The ensemble studies and performs original and arranged works for guitar orchestra, with two to four instruments per part, and is led by a conductor. Admittance is by audition.
Instructor: Cindy Williams
Wednesdays | 12:00 – 2:00 pm
This class is designed for adult amateurs of intermediate to advanced levels. The ensemble will study and perform original and arranged works for piano duos, trios, and quartets. Fundamental ensemble skills such as collaboration, synchronization, and rehearsal techniques, as well as activities designed to develop piano technique, efficient practice habits, and sight reading skills will be addressed. Class priorities include making music with other pianists and having fun! Conducted by Dr. Cynthia Williams.
Not offered during summer session.
Director: Ernest Harrison
Tuesdays | 7:00 – 9:15 pm
Tuition: $360
Audition required. Call 626.683.3355 for more information.
Cantare Chamber Choir is an amateur choir for mixed voices (SATB) that aspires to the highest levels of musicianship and performance standards.
This audition-based choir welcomes broad participation from the community. The repertoire is varied with a core of serious choral works.
Ernest Harrison, tenor, is a graduate of the University of Missouri where he received his master’s degree in choral conducting. Presently, Mr. Harrison is a graduate student at the University of Southern California, pursuing a doctoral degree in choral music. He studies choral conducting under Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe.
Not offered during summer session.
Director: Jaime “Jimmy” Cuellar
Thursdays | 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Register here.
Come join PCM’s newest program! Led by three time Grammy Award-winning local Mariachi band leader, Jaime “Jimmy” Cuellar.
Ensemble instruments include the violin, guitar, trumpet, and guitarron.
Beginners welcome. Everyone sings!
Not offered during summer session.
Instructor: Dr. Ray Briggs
Schedule: 10 Weeks
Fridays: 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Tuition: $300
Since its inchoate stages, jazz in the United States has been a hybrid music, fusing African and European elements into a seamless whole. Moreover, given the centrality of black religious expression to African American culture and American popular culture in general, it is no surprise then that it has been a significant shaping force throughout the development of jazz. This course will survey the ways in which the black church experience has informed jazz. Particular emphasis will be placed on significant composers and performers who have taken inspiration from the church, including Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Horace Silver, Wynton Marsalis and Eric Reed.
Instructor: Dr. Sarkis Baltaian
Schedule: 10 Weeks (Mar 17 – May 26)
Tuesdays: 9:30 – 11:45 am
Tuition: $300
This class surveys the non-standard keyboard concerto repertoire from the Classical Period through 20th Century. Representative works include lesser-known masterpieces by Clementi, Salieri, Czerny, Kuhlau, Hummel, Field, Bruch, Sauer, Clara Schumann, d’ Albert, Busoni, Dvorak, MacDowell, Scriabin, Mednter, Poulenc, Lepatti, Barber, Copland, Britten, Ginastera, Khachaturian, Arutunian, Vladigerov, Kabalevsky, Krenek and Kapustin. Lectures will include analysis of the music, focusing on performance practices as demonstrated by recordings of the works.
Instructor: Nic Gerpe
Schedule: 6 weeks (Apr 10 – May 15)
Fridays: 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Tuition: $180
The history of classical art music is still being written. Right now, incredible concert music is being written by composers of all nationalities, ages and backgrounds. But how did we get here, and how do we listen to and appreciate this varied, deep, often thorny and wild repertoire?
In this course, students will become acquainted with the history of contemporary classical music, including different movements and aesthetics, major composers and visionaries, and how historical events in the 20th and 21st Centuries have influenced different composers and shaped the modern musical landscape. Together, we’ll explore the music of early modern composers such as Debussy, Schoenberg and Stravinsky, and how their legacies continue to influence the composers of our time. Students will become acquainted with contemporary repertoire through a combination of lecture, listening and score study, and will come away from the class with a better understanding and appreciation of modern music.
The class will explore contemporary performance practices such as prepared piano and extended techniques, electronic and microtonal music through live performance demonstrations. Students will also have the opportunity to meet, interact with and learn from guest composers and performers specializing in the contemporary music field, so as to become immersed in the music of our age.
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.