In a Galaxy Far Far Away...

Well, far far away if there's traffic. PCYO held their Spring Concert and blew everyone away with their solos, jazz pieces, pop songs and grand finale with the Star Wars theme!

OK so I forgot wear pumpernickel bagels on my ears to look like Princess Leia - but let's face it - I'm no Princess Leia. So I dressed up this puppy instead. Great job, PCYO!

I've got the concert photos RIGHT HERE!

...And don't forget, Summer Camp is August 15 - 19th!

Summer 2010 Concert

"Be a light and shine," they advised. And PCYO did. They were lights. And they shone. Tears!

I had the privilege of catching the summer concert this Friday, where students and instructors showed off their hard work. Making their parents proud and their minds sharper, the kids blew me away.

To see the concert photos I took when I wasn't staring proudly with my mouth dropped open, click HERE!

Love & music,

Fayeruz

Below photo: Camille & Robert preparing for band camp
at the Regan Cabin

All Kinds of Business!!!

Okay, where do I start?

Popular answer: At the beginning

Okay....

Once upon a time, there was this Youth Orchestra, and they had so many exciting things going on, that the blogger had a hard time keeping track. The blogger obviously needed coffee, but was still excited to write about...

SUMMER CAMP!

Our most popular summer program is back! Why get pale in front of the TV when you can enjoy sunshine, music training, food and field trips? It's from August 9-13th. Apply right now on the PCYO website right HERE!

THE BIG CONCERT!

It's on May 29th! Hang in there, keep coming on Saturdays, practice at home and make your mama proud! Hopefully you took advantage of Robert and Camille's precious weekend time they put aside. Instead of sleeping in, they came to PCYO early to help students individually. Still need help? Talk to them!

THE PCYO WALK-A-THON!!

Here's a note from that foxy PCYO instructor Robert:

PCYO, through its host nonprofit organization, LCEC, is planning a Walk-a-Thon fundraiser for this September. We hope to raise a significant portion of PCYO's Fall 2010-Spring 2011 budget through this fundraiser. As you all know, the cost of putting a student through our program is many times more than the registration fee, which means most of our support comes through grants and fundraisers. In other words, we're counting on this Walk-a-Thon to carry us through the next Fall and Spring seasons.

Planning a Walk-a-Thon is a lot of work--fun, and at times tedious--and any help we can get will greater guarantee its running smoothly. We are thus calling on our friends and families to help us in making our 2010 Walk-a-Thon a success. Please let us know if you or anyone else is willing to help us plan and/or execute the 2010 Walk-a-Thon. We will have a volunteer sign-up sheet on the table at this week's rehearsal (5/22); and we will also be making an announcement at the concert (5/29).

Thank you,
Robert Regan
Assistant Director

Where do I wrap this up?
Popular answer: At the end

...then PCYO practiced hard, gave a great show and a tear was brought to everyone's eye. The summer camp was a success, and PCYO raised a ton of money during their Walk-a-Thon. Then they all lived happily ever after.

- THE END -

Sonja Einmen Rocks the Walt Disney Concert Hall

Our very own PCYO Rock Star and Student Leader Sonja Einem is a proud member of the Renaissance Arts Academy Orchestra and Choir. These guys are such a big deal, they were invited by The Los Angeles Philharmonic (otherwise known as "L.A. Phil") to the Youth Orchestra Festival. PCYO loaded up some vans, got excused early and made a pilgrimage to the Walt Disney Concert Hall to see them bring the house down! I know everybody likes to make a big deal about how cool the Walt Disney Concert Hall looks, but it still seems like a crumpled ball of aluminum foil to me!

The set was great, but the one song that gave everyone goosebumps? O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana. It was both haunting and beautiful.

I get goosebumps even listening to this intense version from Harry Potter. Check it out right HERE!

Bravo Sonja! ...Wait, is that you talking on your cell phone?!?!!?

Madness! Mayhem! It's the PCYO Picnic!

Thank You ROSA!

I must give a shout out to PCYO Supermom ROSA. She is always supporting the crew on Saturdays, emphasizing the fun in education for her children, and on a personal note, she hooks me up with the coolest photos ever! She gives me so many great pics of you rock stars, I want to blog about you all the time! But I have one of those job thingies, so....

ANYWAY - here is my favorite from Rosa's collection!

Here is her son Yael, who won a school art competition and had his painting showcased in a Santa Monica gallery. He even got to sell his painting! We were so proud, we went to see it ourselves.

Way to go Yael!

The Picnic is coming! The Picnic is coming!

I heard that a lot of rock stars were missing last Saturday. I hope this isn't the case for the picnic! Who wouldn't want to enjoy an afternoon of warm sunshine, sizzling burgers and... a revolt, maybe? That's the rumor, rock stars. Like I said in my last post, all you naughty rock stars are rumored to be planning a water balloon attack - and we are READY. We DARE you. Mwah ha hAAAA!

PCYO Picnic Revolt???

Well, well, well PCYO.

A little birdie told me that PCYO students are planning a revolt. Is this true? Are we really to be bombarded with water balloons? Well we've got our umbrellas, raincoats and waterproof masacara - so BRING IT.

Picnic Details
Where: Farnsworth Park
When: April 17th
Time: 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Former PCYO Rock Stars...on TV!

Hey PCYO! Remember former PCYO Rock Stars Pepe & Justus Bradshaw? They scored a TV commercial! Check it out right here and click on the first module!

Another PCYO Night Out

PCYO rock star Sebastian and his parents joined up with Robert, Camille and Safoa for yet another night on the town. They took in a Mozart symphony, and it was a night to remember. See the attached photos!

Big Surprise for PCYO Rock Star Sonja Einem!

Our PCYO rock star Sonja Einem received an exciting surprise when Jamie Foxx and Dominic Monaghan strolled into their school to give them all new musical instruments!

Not only were brand new instruments donated to four Los Angeles schools, but our very own Sonja Einem (sporting an edgy new hairstyle) was interviewed on Fox 11. See the clip right HERE.

The instruments were donated by Fidelity Investments as part of its 2010 FutureStage music program. With funding for arts and music in L.A. Unified schools being sliced in half this year, this news could not have come at a better time.

A PCYO Night Out

What happens when you keep practicing your instrument? You get to perform on stage or in the orchestra for a delighted audience. Last week, we got to be part of a delighted audience! It was a big PCYO night out for Camille, Robert, Safoa, Daniel, Bethany and friends. A famous supermodel even tagged along! She's in the middle. Isn't she beeeeeeaaaautiful?

PCYO instructors had a night on the town to see The Mikado at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex. Does the gentleman in the below photo look familiar? That's because you've seen him around campus on Saturdays - he rehearses for his mindblowing and stupendous shows just down the hall. It's the infamous Richard Sheldon!

PS) Don't forget, bring along your family and friends to PCYO for open enrollment. They're taking new students until February 6th!

Welcome Back PCYO!

Well, well, well. Look who's back! The same gaggle of Rock Stars, and then some. Speaking of the "and then somes"...

Tell one, tell all, we are still enrolling new PCYO students for this season until February 6th.

That's right, tell your friends, tell your cousins, but PLEASE don't tell the Cafeteria Lady. We are taking new PCYO Rock Stars until February 6th!

10 Things You Didn't Know About...... Johann Sebastian Bach

1. He had 20 kids! (...and you think your family fights over bathroom time?)

2. The huge HUGE HUGE Bach family produced over 50 notable musicians throughout the years.

3. He was once thrown in jail for a month! (Not too exciting - some naughty Duke wanted to stop him from accepting a better job, so he threw Bach behind bars.)

4. In the last year of his life, he went blind. Bach even tried getting an operation by the same doctor who operated on Handel's eyes, but the surgery was unsuccessful. It was an unsuccessful surgery for Handel too. What's up, Doc?

5. At Bach's older brother's wedding, he met Johann Pachelbel, composer of the infamous Pachelbel Canon in D.

6. Bach married his cousin! Her name was Maria Barbara Bach, and she was his second cousin.

7. Bach was married twice. When his first wife died, he married Anna Magdalena Wilcke (the daughter of the town trumpeter).

8. Bach's music is very popular for weddings around the world.

9. His favorite restaurant was Taco Bell.

10. Fact #9 is a lie. (...but if he were alive now, it's highly possible!)

Welcome Gustavo Dudamel!

You have seen his wacky hair on television and splashed across the pages of newspapers and magazines. His name is on the tip of everyone's tongue.

Who is he? Gustavo Dudamel!

What's the buzz? He came to Los Angeles!

Does this have anything to do with PCYO? Uh huh!

This classical music legend is now the head conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and you can see him live. But it's his YOUTH ORCHESTRA that's made him who he is.

Just like you, he was smart and started his music education early. He liked violin and composition. Then, In 1999, he was appointed music director of the Orquestra Sinfonica Simon Bolivar, the national youth orchestra of Venezuela.

That's right, Venezuela rules because they have a national youth orchestra. Don't you wish Obama would set that kind of system in place? Start writing letters!

Gustavo Dudamel worked closely with his youth orchestra and tuned them into such astounding performers, they toured all around the world! Don't you wish you could do that? Skipping your home-cooked brussels sprouts for pizza...in Italy! For sushi...in Japan! For...well, you get the idea.

Gustavo Dudamel and his youth orchestra are a shining example of what we can be one day, if we keep practicing and remember to love what we do. Check out their unbelievable performance right HERE.

Welcome to Los Angeles Gustavo Dudamel!

PCYO Star on TV!

Hellooooooooo PCYO,

Hopefully you're enjoying the last few weeks of summer. I mentioned earlier in the season that one of our very own rock stars would be on TV. Justus Bradshaw sang back-up for pop star John Mayer on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien! To celebrate Conan O'Brien's move from New York to Los Angeles to take Jay Leno's place on the iconic program, John Mayer sang California Dreamin' - and so did Justus!

Not only did the LA Times write about the Los Angeles Children's Choir performance, but I have a video of the big night, so check him out. He's in the back row on the right, and looking sharp!

Just click HERE. Enjoy!

Love & music,
Fayeruz

Band Camp in Full Swing!

Eat your heart out slackers! While you sit at home watching the 58th rerun of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, your friends at PCYO Band Camp are working on a masterpiece, and it will be performed for friends and family this Friday the 14th at 4 pm. Don't miss it - unlike reruns, this is live entertainment!

PCYO band campers are not only blossoming as musicians, they are getting the star treatment. A real-life mariachi band will be performing for them, they get to play music trivia Jeopardy and they get to dine on scrumptious treats created by Glendale chef Safoa Abboa, from Safoa's Fare.

PCYO's rock stars also have a chance to score free Teriyaki Six Dollar Burgers from Carl's Jr., origami art paper airplanes, (ever heard of an instructor GIVING kids paper airplanes??) and much, much more!

Hope to see you at the concert this Friday!

Love & music,

Fayeruz

We're Baaaaach.....

That's right - band camp is coming! Put down the remote control and video games and do something you can brag about! You want to have an edge on your classmates in the fall. You know, the ones that spent the summer eating Hot Cheetos and watching bad reruns of Hannah Montana. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ......

We're here to keep you sharp - so prepare for a week of fun, food and music!

Band camp is August 10th - 14th 2009, and you can register on the PCYO official website.

See you there!

Love & music,

Fayeruz

PCYO 2009 Spring Concert Pictures!

Congratulations on yet another successful season, PCYO! The Spring 2009 concert was the cherry on top of another memorable season. I could tell who had been practicing hard, and I loved the show!

I am full of good news...

For all you rock stars that never made it into a Rock Star of the Week post, I have a special edition Rock Star of the Week posting coming out next week, and it will honor all those who were not yet mentioned. Keep your eyes peeled! But don't peel them like a banana. That's gross.

One of our very own little rock stars is GOING TO BE ON T.V.!! Jay Leno just did his last Tonight Show, and Conan O'Brian will be taking his place. Conan's first week will be a star-studded celebration of the all-new Tonight Show, and this Thursday night, our very own Justus Bradshaw will be singing. Make sure you tune in! It may be airing past your bedtime, so get someone to record or Tevo it!

Last but certainly not least, I have photos from the fantabulous (...is that a word?) concert yesterday. To see PCYO's shiny new Flickr account and photo album, click HERE!

Love & Music, Fayeruz