Jane Moorman's family has been involved with PCM for many years. Her mother, Priscilla, is a longstanding supporter, has served on the advisory council, and was an enthusiastic student. Jane, too, is a PCM supporter and a musician, playing her viola for members of the community. Below, she shares how she is navigating the restrictions around Covid-19 from her home in Palo Alto. On Thursday March, 19, Los Angeles residents were asked to stay in their residences and limit all activities outside of their homes beyond what is necessary for essential tasks. Days later, PCM adapted its lessons and programs and launched a “distance learning” spring quarter. For this series, we’re checking in with students, instructors, and staff members to see how they’re managing and how distance learning (and teaching) is working for them.

PCM Faculty and Staff celebrate the graduating class of 2020!

A presentation of Keep Calm and Play On, this series of panel discussions brings together PCM faculty, students, staff, and families, to share their experience around teaching and learning music during Covid-19. Wednesday, July 1, moderated by PCM Advisory Council member Elisa Callow, PCM parents Nancy Elliott, Kiku Iwata, and Eric and Suzie Lee, gathered virtually to share their families’ experiences around learning music from home, the challenges of distance learning, and how they support their children's music studies in this new environment.

PCM’s music programs have been online for six months now. Finding new ways to motivate and inspire students in a personalized way, while fostering a shared musical experience, has been one of our greatest challenges. One of the programs that has demonstrated a nimble and multi-faceted approach is PCM’s Suzuki violin and viola program.