In August 2025, more than 300 people came to PCM’s first-ever Open House. They tried classes from Young Musicians to music production to world music, and many registered on the spot. The Crescendo Fund made that day possible, along with several other new programs. It also shows what the Fund is for: giving promising ideas the resources to become reality.

The Fund was established in 2025 with proceeds from the Ovation Soirée. That event celebrated the leadership and legacy of former Executive Director Stephen McCurry and raised $125,000. The Fund gives PCM flexible resources for new ideas, expanded access, and opportunities that advance our vision of joy, excellence, and community through music.

Beyond the Open House, the Fund launched Second Sundays, a free monthly series spotlighting Americana, Mexican, Indian, and Chinese folk traditions. About 225 people attended in its first year, and many of them were visiting PCM for the first time.

It also expanded our partnership with Pasadena Unified School District. PCM Jazz faculty led clinics at schools including Eliot Arts Magnet and John Muir High School. Additionally, roughly 90 PUSD students came to Webster Amphitheater for a concert and workshop, where they had the chance to play alongside acclaimed jazz drummer Roy McCurdy and other PCM faculty.

After a schoolwide survey pointed to new interests in fall 2025, the Fund bought the instruments and equipment needed to launch Group Piano and Chinese Folk Music classes. Since January, more than 60 students have enrolled, about 4% of PCM’s annual enrollment.

For the coming 2026–27 school year, the Fund invited proposals from all PCM faculty. Each submitted proposal laid out goals, a budget, a timeline, and a plan for sharing results. A committee of senior staff reviewed them against clear priorities: measurable impact on student enrollment or faculty growth, alignment with PCM’s goals, fresh thinking, and knowledge that reaches beyond a single classroom.

Here’s what’s ahead.

Young Audiences Concert
Rachael Denny, Young Musicians

Rachael Denny is reviving a PCM favorite. The Young Musicians Concert began with the Chroma concert series in the early 2000s and gave young children and their families a child-friendly way to experience live music. The new program will weave together story, music, and interactive elements, performed by PCM faculty in our auditorium.

Jazz Jamz
Sherry Luchette, Jazz

Once a semester, PCM students and community musicians of all ages and abilities can sign up to improvise on tunes of their choice, backed by PCM faculty or a professional rhythm section. The PCM Auditorium will be set up nightclub-style, with tables, snacks, and drinks. It’s a chance to play, listen, and get to know PCM Jazz.

PCM Podcast
Alexander Zhu and Wesley Chu, MPTC and Piano

Faculty members Alexander Zhu and Wesley Chu will host a bi-weekly, half-hour podcast for high school and college students and their parents. In “How It’s Made,” the hosts build music tracks in real time. Other segments include “Ask a Composer,” “Look Closer,” “Musical Jeopardy,” and “Day in the Life” episodes with PCM staff, faculty, and parents.

MuseStory
Wesley Chu, MPTC and Piano

MuseStory pairs classical programs with visual and auditory elements, drawing on art forms like visual art, dance, theatre, and poetry while keeping music at the center. Each concert will have a theme, such as paintings, food, or the seasons, and will include at least one premiere by a living composer, starting with PCM faculty. Students will be invited to propose concert themes of their own.

Baroque Interpretation Class
Aimee Kreston, Strings

Led primarily by Baroque specialist Eva Lymenstull, a former PCM student, this class will help students approach phrasing, ornamentation, tuning, and articulation with historical insight. Guests will join along the way, including a Baroque dance instructor and a music historian. The class ends with a final performance, and students will apply what they’ve learned to both solo and ensemble repertoire.

Last year showed what flexible investment can do: new families came through our doors, new classes were added to the schedule, and new partnerships formed across Pasadena. This year, that investment goes directly to our faculty’s ideas. The projects will reach young children, community jazz players, listeners beyond our campus, and concertgoers looking for something new. Each one reflects the vision behind the Fund: joy, excellence, and community through music.