The organization’s fifth Southern California school district partnership brings spring training residency, free concert tickets, fully-funded leadership camp scholarships, and instrument sales discounts to Fontana USD’s music students.
Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization is proud to announce a new partnership with Fontana Unified School District, marking the fifth such collaboration the organization has established with a Southern California school district. The partnership reflects a core strategic priority adopted by the Pacific Crest Board of Directors in its 2025 strategic plan: building deep, mutually beneficial relationships with local school districts to advance arts education while supporting the corps’ mission.
Under the agreement, Fontana USD will host Pacific Crest for a full week of spring training. In exchange, Pacific Crest will deliver a range of direct educational benefits to the district’s music students:
- Free tickets for the district’s band students to attend Drum Corps at the Rose Bowl on July 11
- Fully funded scholarships for middle and high school band students to attend a Pacific Crest leadership camp this summer
- Deep discounts on the purchase of gently-used musical instruments
“We are incredibly grateful to Superintendent Inbody and the Board of Education. The district and site administrators have been a joy to work with on this, and their collective support of music education across the district is inspiring.”
— Stuart Pompel, CEO, Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization
Pacific Crest thanks the Board of Education under the leadership of President Angel Ramirez, and is especially grateful to Associate Superintendent of Business Services Leslie Barnes, Ed.D., who worked for more than eight months to coordinate the logistics of the week-long residency.
“At Fontana Unified, we believe the Visual and Performing Arts are essential to developing the whole child. Organizations like Pacific Crest inspire creativity, discipline, collaboration, and confidence while giving students the chance to discover their passions and express themselves in meaningful ways. We are proud to partner with organizations that align with our Board of Education’s commitment to creating transformative experiences for students and enriching our community by opening our campuses to support their summer programs.”
— Miki R. Inbody, Superintendent, Fontana Unified School District
To celebrate the community that is making the residency possible, Pacific Crest will present a community performance at the conclusion of the training week.
Community Performance: Pacific Crest Live at AB Miller High School
Sunday, June 14 · 8:00 PM
AB Miller High School Stadium · Fontana, CA
A $5 donation will be collected at the gate, with all proceeds benefiting the AB Miller band program.
The partnership with Fontana USD continues Pacific Crest’s expansion of its community outreach footprint across the region. Each partnership is designed to create lasting value for students, schools, and the broader performing arts ecosystem in Southern California.
About Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization: Pacific Crest is a touring performance ensemble of 165 highly accomplished young performers, ages 16–21, who train and compete together on a national tour each summer under Drum Corps International (DCI) — culminating at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis. Built around that world-class ensemble, Pacific Crest’s education and outreach programs include multi-day Arts Education Camps where high school students work directly with teaching artists to develop performance and leadership skills, and an Outreach Program that provides discounted and no-cost tickets to 5,000 high school band students annually — ensuring access to live performing arts at the highest level regardless of financial circumstances.
