This past January, Pasadena Conservatory of Music expanded its 25 year partnership with the Pasadena Unified School District, welcoming 90 jazz students from four middle and high schools to its campus. Faculty from PCM’s Jazz Department hosted a masterclass that offered students a chance to explore new styles of music, learn about the industry, and make music alongside working professionals. 

Katherine Ella Wood, PCM’s Community Liaison, worked with PUSD staff Karen Anderson and Karen Klages to organize the visit, laying the foundation for the organizations’ growing partnership. The masterclass featured PCM faculty Danny Janklow, Amy Rowe, Roy McCurdy, Aaron Janik, and Ahmet Türkmenoğlu performing as a five-piece ensemble. After playing a few pieces together, they broke down the role of each instrument in the band and invited students to join in — playing and singing along, improvising in the New Orleans Jazz tradition.

This field trip is only the beginning. Wood describes the program’s guiding philosophy: “We are not operating with one model of how we exist in a classroom or how we host students on our campus — the central question is, ‘What do you need?'” The collaboration is designed to be lasting and adaptable, meeting each school wherever they are.

Since this initial event, PCM faculty have visited schools directly, sitting in with band directors to work on jazz repertoire. Wood recalls those visits warmly: “We went to John Muir twice in April and worked with their band on some Donna Summer and Gene Krupa, because that’s not their wheelhouse. It was really fun for us to see how Karen [Klages] runs a band and to watch our faculty sit in each section with students. And I think it was cool for her to hear how different it is in jazz — how we think about pockets of rhythm and what defines the genre. It was really cool to offer that kind of exchange.”

For the in-school clinics, PCM brought in Marvin “Smitty” Smith — a local legend who played on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and toured with Sting, Willie Nelson, and many other acclaimed pop and jazz artists. Deeply fluent across styles, he proved both helpful and inspiring to the students he worked with.

As for what comes next, Wood is excited about how much potential she sees. “The first collaboration was in January, and it’s early in its infancy, so you’re hearing the voice of somebody who’s like dreaming of watching this little seedling turn into a beautiful tomato. I feel like we’ve already reaped the rewards of it, witnessing this exchange and seeing how it impacts the students.” She also describes plans to expand into more genres by engaging additional departments and to deepen PCM’s community-forward mission.

When asked what she most wants people to know about the collaboration, Wood’s answer was simple: no task is too small. Whether that means sending extra faculty into a classroom or hosting a full masterclass on campus, PCM is committed to showing students there is a path forward in music — even at schools where programs are being consolidated.

PCM is excited to grow our partnership with PUSD even further in the coming year, remaining a consistent and welcoming presence in the district’s classrooms. Stay tuned for more exciting developments!