Current Students

In April of 2023, the Former Chief Executive Officer and Chair of Zevia Soda, Paddy Spence, had his first-ever music lesson with Elizabeth Babor. He’d always wanted to learn piano but his two children, both music lovers, gave him the additional push to start. In this interview, he talks about how his past experience in public speaking helped him with his first piano recital and provides advice on how as a beginner, you can still enjoy music to its fullest potential.

Rio Navarro, 15, began his PCM journey in the Young Musicians program and, at age five, started studying cello with Niklas Bertani. Rio is an accomplished accordionist, having won the All Ireland Championship title. Additionally, he won first place in the Dan Stover Memorial Music Competition. He has also performed at the Pasadena Playhouse’s gala, Playhouse Party, and was named the Cotati Accordion Festival’s student scholarship winner. This year, he’s excited to join the PYSO Philharmonic's cello section.

In December 2022, PCM adult violin student D’Arcy Sloane was preparing for her recital and had the idea to bring in her two friends from PCM’s Adult String Ensemble (ASE) – Rose Meyer and Barbara George – and their friend Penny Garcia from Second Strings Orchestra, to accompany her on a Mozart piece. The combination of talented musicians and warm, passionate personalities created such a fun and beautiful space for rehearsal and performance that they all knew it had to continue. By early 2023, they took a string quartet class with Erika Walczak and quickly became known as the Heart Strings Quartet. They now have laughter-filled rehearsals every Wednesday, and perform for family and friends, at retirement homes, PCM, fundraisers, and the Altadena Town and Country Club. They have created a lifelong bond of music and friendship. Read on to meet the members and learn how they have each been inspired musically, why they love playing together, and some of their favorite moments.

We sat down with Seven-year-old Maddie Hsu who started piano lessons at PCM this year with Lauren Yoon. In this interview, Maddie talks about why she chose the piano, what she likes about it, her experience playing in a Bach Festival, and why playing piano and softball are totally different!