Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization

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Studio Series

30-Minute Lessons
Single – $30
6-Pack – $150 ($25 per lesson)
12-Pack – $288 ($24 per lesson)
45-Minute Lessons
Single – $40
6-Pack – $240 ($35 per lesson)
12-Pack – $396 ($33 per lesson)
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Professional Series

45-Minute Lessons
Single – $70
6-Pack – $420 ($70 per lesson)
12-Pack – $780 ($65 per lesson)
One-Hour Lessons
Single – $85
6-Pack – $510 ($85 per lesson)
12-Pack – $960 ($80 per lesson)
Scroll down to select your desired Pro Series instructor

Lessons

Studio Series (current offerings, subject to change):
Brass: French Horn, Trombone, Baritone, Euphonium, Tuba
Woodwinds: Flute, Saxophone
Percussion: Mallets, Drum Set

Professional Series:
Flute, French Horn, Drum Set

Instructors

BRASS

WOODWINDS

PERCUSSION

 

Professional Series Instructors

Bobby Bonslater
Trumpet, French Horn

Bobby-BonslaterBOBBY BONSLATER

BOBBY BONSLATER is an educator, designer, and performer residing in Chicago, IL, offering specialized school performing arts academies to expose young inner-city students to instrumental, choral, technology, and general music to better prepare them to be productive members of high school and college programs as well as their community ensembles.

Bobby has had the pleasure of performing with and teaching many DCI and DCA drum and bugle corps, including Racine Scouts, Americanos, East Coast Jazz, Madison Scouts, Kilties, Chops, and Govenaires. His WGI experience includes Americanos Indoor, Pioneer Indoor, Chops Indoor Percussion, Eagan High School, and Phoenix Drumline.

He is an active performing member of the Chicago Bears Drumline and is the Founder of Bonslater Creative Designs and Founder of the Chicago Youth Arts Organization. He has recently been awarded the Superior Ratings and top honors for WGI’s 2020 and 2021 Solo and Ensemble for both Trumpet and Clarinet in the 19+ category.

 

Angel Chacon
Euphonium, Baritone, Tuba, Saxophone

ANGEL J. CHACON is currently pursuing a degree in music pedagogy and is the principle tubist in the Wind Ensemble at Cal Poly Pomona. He graduated from West Covina HS in 2016 and has played many instruments throughout his life.

As a member of Pacific Crest, Angel marched “The Union” in 2016 and performed with “Chacon & The Bones” in the record-breaking 2019 show “Everglow”. As a teacher, his goal is to inspire others to have the passion to learn music and play with confidence.

Matt Collins
Trumpet

head-shot matt collins-200pxMATT COLLINS currently serves as a Band Director in Duxbury Public Schools in Duxbury, Massachusetts. His teaching duties range from beginning 5th-grade brass lessons up through high school wind ensemble.

Matt attended Penn State University, where he received a Bachelor’s of Music Education degree. While at Penn State, Matt studied trumpet with Dr. Langston J. Fitzgerald III and wind conducting with Professor Dennis Glocke. He then continued his studies at the Berklee College of Music, where he earned a Professional Certificate and was the recipient of the Mark Mothersbaugh scholarship for his academic excellence.

Matt spent two summers performing with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, aging out in 2016 as a lead trumpet soloist and section leader. He was later hired as a member of the brass instructional team for the 2017 season.

Derek Fritz
Tuba

head-shot Derek Fritz-200pxDEREK FRITZ is a senior music education major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and is a graduate of Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, MN. In his time at UWEC, he has served as the principal tubist of the Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra, and as tuba section leader for the Blugold Marching Band – the largest Division III marching band in the country.

Derek spent four seasons with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, where he was section leader for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. In the fall he works as a guest clinician with a number of high school bands throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota and is a music and visual instructor with the Rosemount High School Marching Band from Rosemount, MN. When not working with bands, Derek spends his free time with his pet rabbit, Philip.

Michael Ma
French Horn

MICHAEL MA is a native of Camarillo, CA and currently resides in Orange County while attending Chapman University. He is an alumni of Pacific Crest, where he marched from 2014-2016 and was mellophone section leader in 2016. As a performer, he has played in many college football and NFL stadiums across the country.

After marching with Pacific Crest, he became interested in pursuing a career in music performance, and later fell in love with teaching. He graduated from Chapman University with a Bachelor of Music degree in French horn performance and music education, and will soon begin his master’s and credential in education at Chapman University.

In addition to the French horn, Michael has played several other instruments, including the flute and alto sax. He has performed in two choir tours in Europe, which landed him in prestigious venues such as the Vatican in Rome. Fun fact: Michael was a competitive bowler for 14 years before his music career.

Noah Oliver
Trombone, Baritone, Euphonium

NoahOliverNOAH OLIVER is currently a student at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX, working towards a Bachelor of Music in Music Studies. At Texas State, he is bass trombonist of the Symphony Orchestra and has performed in multiple ensembles, including the Trombone Choir and Jazz Orchestra.

Noah marched with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps from 2015 to 2018, serving as the baritone section leader for the last two years. Noah has taught visuals and music at Rouse High School in the Leander Independent School District since 2016.

Zach Sheller
Mellophone, Baritone, Euphonium

ZACH SHELLER is currently studying music education with a minor in business management at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is principal euphonium for the UTA Wind Symphony and was a drum major in the Maverick Marching Band in 2017 before serving as an undergraduate assistant in 2018. Zach started marching with the Madison Scouts in 2012 as a baritone and euphonium player before serving as a drum major from 2015 through 2017.

Zach was raised in the greater Austin area and currently lives in Arlington, TX. He has been a private lesson teacher and marching tech in both the greater Austin and Dallas Fort Worth areas, serving as a visual instructor for Vista Ridge High School, Birdville High School, Coppell High School, and currently with Centennial High School in Burleson, Texas. Along with teaching, he spent the summer of 2018 with the Seattle Cascades as an administrative assistant and leadership consultant.

Andrew Barone
Saxophone

Andrew Barone - Saxophone InstructorANDREW BARONE is a music educator in Southern California. He is currently finishing his Bachelor’s degree in Communications as a student at Cal State University Fullerton, where he played in many music ensembles including the Fullerton Jazz Orchestra on Lead Tenor Saxophone. Prior to CSUF, Andrew graduated from Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California, and attended Santa Barbara City College, where he played in the Lunchbreak Big Band as well as other ensembles.

Andrew served as Assistant Drum Major for Pacific Crest for the 2018 season as well as for the 2019 Rose Parade. He is currently on the music staff at Chino Hills High School, where in 2019 he helped lead the program to WBA Grand Championships. He is also on the music staff at Alta Loma High School and Townsend Middle School.

Bobby Bonslater
Flute, Clarinet

Bobby-BonslaterBOBBY BONSLATER is an educator, designer, and performer residing in Chicago, IL, offering specialized school performing arts academies to expose young inner-city students to instrumental, choral, technology, and general music to better prepare them to be productive members of high school and college programs as well as their community ensembles.

Bobby has had the pleasure of performing with and teaching many DCI and DCA drum and bugle corps, including Racine Scouts, Americanos, East Coast Jazz, Madison Scouts, Kilties, Chops, and Govenaires. His WGI experience includes Americanos Indoor, Pioneer Indoor, Chops Indoor Percussion, Eagan High School, and Phoenix Drumline.

He is an active performing member of the Chicago Bears Drumline and is the Founder of Bonslater Creative Designs and Founder of the Chicago Youth Arts Organization. He has recently been awarded the Superior Ratings and top honors for WGI’s 2020 and 2021 Solo and Ensemble for both Trumpet and Clarinet in the 19+ category.

Michael Ma
Flute

MICHAEL MA is a native of Camarillo, CA and currently resides in Orange County while attending Chapman University. He is an alumni of Pacific Crest, where he marched from 2014-2016 and was mellophone section leader in 2016. As a performer, he has played in many college football and NFL stadiums across the country.

After marching with Pacific Crest, he became interested in pursuing a career in music performance, and later fell in love with teaching. He graduated from Chapman University with a Bachelor of Music degree in French horn performance and music education, and will soon begin his master’s and credential in education at Chapman University.

In addition to the French horn, Michael has played several other instruments, including the flute and alto sax. He has performed in two choir tours in Europe, which landed him in prestigious venues such as the Vatican in Rome. Fun fact: Michael was a competitive bowler for 14 years before his music career.

Nicole Casino
Snare Drum

Nicole-Casino-600pxNICOLE CASINO performed with a number of award-winning DCI and WGI ensembles, including Pulse Percussion (2011-2013), RCC (2014-2015), Bluecoats (2011), and Blue Devils (2012-2013). She served as section leader for Pulse Percussion in 2013 and was the first female center snare for the Blue Devils that same year.

Nicole works as a percussionist and performer for the Disneyland Resort. She holds a Master of Arts from Berklee College of Music in Music Business and Global Entertainment.

Alongside her dynamic performing career, Nicole found a passion for percussion education, teaching all levels of ensembles across the world. Most notably, she has worked with Chino Hills High School, Vista Murrieta High School, Broken City, Vessel, Blue Knights, and the Malmö Drum Corps of Malmö, Sweden.

Currently, Nicole is the Percussion Director at Arroyo High School, the snare tech at Vessel, and a consultant for ensembles around the globe. With a wide range of experiences and learning from a variety of different educators throughout her career, she has developed a unique style all her own and loves to inspire students to achieve success at any level.

 

Joshua Guerrero-Martinez
Marching Tenors/Quads

Joshua Guerrero-Martinez-200px

JOSHUA ADAM has been a part of the percussion community since 2001. He is currently the Captain Head at West Covina High School and has been a musician with the Disneyland Resort since 2011.

His marching experience is with Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps in 2008 & 2009 on quads. He has also studied jazz/pop drumset at Citrus College from 2009-2011 and has been a part of a 1930-1940s swing group called “Ken & The Bois” for the last 5 years.

For a short time from 2017 through 2018, Joshua worked as a Parade Operations Specialist in charge of the daily operations at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park.

He is currently studying to be a Mechanical Engineer at Citrus College.

 

Gilbert Nazari
Marching Bass Drum

Gilbert Nazari - Percussion Instructor
GILBERT NAZARI is a percussion educator and designer based in Southern California. His performance experience includes Dark Sky Percussion, RCC, Blue Stars, Mandarins, and Blue Devils. Since 2016, Gilbert has taken on teaching roles across Southern California at schools such as Burbank High School, Crescenta Valley High School, Arcadia High School, and Temple City High School. Throughout his time at UCSB, he was also able to work with two programs in the Santa Barbara region: San Marcos High School and Santa Barbara High School.

Gilbert currently works at Temple City High School as Percussion Caption Head, at Arcadia High School as a bass instructor, and at Dark Sky Percussion as a bass instructor. 2022 will be his first year at Pacific Crest.

Beyond his musical background, Gilbert earned his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Philosophy and Political Science in 2020. His research interests have included questions in theory about the nature of justice, equality of opportunity, and responsibility. He is currently volunteering at Children’s Centers across Armenia, and aims to spend the next year applying for graduate school in hopes of becoming a teacher.

Chaiya Odle
Mallets

Chaiya-Odle Front Ensemble DirectorCHAIYA D. ODLE is a percussionist, educator, and composer based in the Pacific Northwest area. As a front ensemble and battery percussion performer, her marching experience includes Eruption Indoor Percussion, IMPACT Percussion Ensemble, Central Washington University Marching Band, Vessel Percussion Ensemble, Broken City Percussion, Columbians Drum and Bugle Corps, and Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. She is currently finishing two degrees as a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology at Central Washington University.

Chaiya is also active as a performing concert and jazz artist, having studied privately under Dr. Miho Takekawa and Mark Goodenberger for the last eight years in a comprehensive education of composition, concert, chamber, solo, and jazz percussion. She has a diverse background of experience from performing in South Sound Symphonic Band, Vivace! Choral Ensemble, CWU Percussion Ensembles, CWU Symphony Orchestra, CWU Wind Ensemble, CWU Big Bands and Combos, and more.

Chaiya currently works for A.C. Davis High School as Percussion Caption Head and Temple City High School as Front Ensemble Instructor and Composer. She also runs a private studio of percussion lessons with various freelance composition and arrangement projects. 2022 will be her first year at Pacific Crest.

Outside of her music passions, Chaiya has a deep love for nature, reading, art, traveling, and singing. She finds cultivating warm connections and growth in communities the most gratifying thing any individual can do.

Whitney Taylor
Mallets

Whitney Taylor Front Ensemble InstructorWHITNEY TAYLOR graduated from La Quinta HS in Westminster in 2015 and has performed with Pulse Percussion, Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps, and the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps.

She teaches mainly in Southern California; some of her experiences include being on the front ensemble staff at Temple City HS, Gahr HS, and La Quinta HS. She is also a part-time private piano instructor for Elite Musique.

Whitney received her Bachelor’s degree in Health & Human Sciences from the University of Southern California in May 2019 and is an aspiring law student.

Steven Vonderohe
Drum Set and Mallets

Steven-Vonderohe Ensemble InstructorSTEVEN VONDEROHE is a musician, educator, and composer in the southwest suburbs of Chicago who is devoted to sharing and advancing the art of music and the percussive arts.

Since receiving his bachelor’s degree in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music, he has actively taught in a variety of settings, from public high schools and middle schools to lesson studios and independent ensembles. As an educator in the Illinois marching community, Steven works at Romeoville HS as Front Ensemble Instructor and Arranger, and also serves as Ensemble Director and Arranger at Pi Percussion, an independent WGI ensemble.

As a performer, Steven has played with orchestras, chamber ensembles, jazz combos, pop/rock bands, drum lines, choirs, and musical productions, and is able to approach each situation with a high level of professionalism and passion. He is also a seasoned performer in the Drum Corps activity, where he spent five seasons playing marimba with the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps.

Currently, Steven performs on tenors with the Bulls’ Stampede Drum Line, plays drum set with his band AM/FM in the greater Chicago area, and writes/produces his own music as a solo pianist and percussionist.

Marvin “Smitty” Smith
Drum Set

Marvin-Smitty-Smith Private Lesson - Drum SetSign Up with Smitty

MARVIN “SMITTY” SMITH was born June 24, 1961 in Waukegan (Illinois). “It was a very natural inclination for me to play drums,” says Smith, known by many as Smitty. A glance at his early life validates that truth.

Born the son of a drummer, Marvin Sr., he was always surrounded by music in the house. At six months old, he would climb up on the large lounge chair positioned directly in front of his father’s drum set and watch him practice, intensely. Whenever his father took a break, he would crawl over and press the foot pedals and attempt to emulate his dad. That experience, and banging on pots and pans, was the extent of his playing until he began formal training at the age of three.

Today, Marvin Smitty Smith is a musician extraordinaire whose work has been described as a “comment on invention, firm and adventurous time and technical sufficiency.” He has traveled extensively throughout Asia, Europe, and the continental USA; and he has toured with varied musical artists such as Sonny Rollins, Frank Foster and Frank Wess, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Sting, Dave Holland, M-BASE, Kevin Eubanks, Norman Brown, and Dean Brown. He is a former member of the Ron Carter Quartet, the New York Jazz Quartet, the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet, Steve Coleman and Five Elements, the M-BASE Collective, the Dave Holland Quintet/Quartet, and is currently a member of the Kevin Eubanks Group, and co-leads the Swingin’ and Groovin’ Collective, with Jacques Lesure.

He is featured on more than 350 albums, additional performances, and recordings augmented with Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison, Ray Brown and Phineas Newborn, George Shearing, Bobby Watson, Hamiet Bluiett, Branford Marsalis, David Murray, Emily Remler, Peter Leitch, Kevin Eubanks, Donald Byrd, Monty Alexander, Joyce, Willie Nelson, Diane Reeves, Michel Camilo, Billy Childs, Grover Washington Jr., Bruce Forman, and Dean Brown.

Smitty conducts seminars and clinics for students in jazz workshops, both in the United States and Europe, and was on the staff of the jazz program at the Banff Centre of Fine Arts, Canada, and Drummers Collective, New York City. Smitty has been Downbeat Critics’ Poll winner for Talent Deserving Wider Recognition from 1985 through 1987, and again in 1989. Smitty performed on the soundtrack of filmmaker Spike Lee’s “School Daze” and the film “This Christmas”. He also appeared in Sonny Rollins’ documentary “Saxophone Colossus” and was a member of Sting’s “Nothing Like the Sun” South American tour, 1987.

Regarded as a well-rounded musician with the ability to play all styles, Marvin Smitty Smith is a formidable composer and arranger, and his success has earned him two albums as a bandleader: “Keeper of the Drums” (1987) and “The Road Less Traveled” (1989). Smitty relocated to Los Angeles in 1995 and worked as a member of the Tonight Show Band under music director Kevin Eubanks from 1995-2010. Since then, he’s toured and/or recorded with Azar Lawrence, Norman Brown, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jacques Lesure and Dean Brown, and composed two songs on Dean Brown’s 2012 release, “Unfinished Business”, as well as two songs on Dean’s 2015 release, “RoLaJaFuFu”. As a versatile drummer, there seems to be nothing he cannot do. It’s been said that he is the “John Coltrane of the drums.”

Beckie Euson
French Horn

Beckie-Euson- Private Lessons - French HornSign Up with Beckie

BECKIE EUSON is a freelance French horn performer and private music teacher in Southern California. Beckie studied French horn as a Gluck Fellow with the Herb Alpert School of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she holds a Masters degree in French horn performance. She also has two bachelor’s degrees from Chapman University in Music Education and Music Performance on French horn.

Beckie is the first chair of the Santa Clarita Philharmonic, principal horn of Mission Opera as well as the contractor, and principal horn with Grace Baptist Orchestra. In addition to performing, Beckie is also a private music teacher, general music teacher at a local elementary school, brass coach for three local high schools, and has her own private studio where she teaches online and in-person in her home studio.

Shannon Canchola
Flute

Shannon Canchola Professional - fluteSign Up with Shannon

SHANNON CANCHOLA is a versatile flute performer from Southern California who has performed in a variety of different ensembles, including the Redlands Symphony, California Philharmonic, Kaleidoscope Orchestra, Los Angeles Sinfonietta, Desert Symphony, Valley Opera & Performing Arts, and NUMI Opera Orchestra. She has recorded and performed with many iconic musicians including Grammy Award Winner Ariana Grande, Grammy Award Winner John Daversa, Grammy Nominated Michel Weir, international cellist Tina Guo, youtube violinist Taylor Davis, and Iranian popstars Aref Arefkia and Leila Forouhar. Shannon has many commercial music credits for both recording and performing, including being a member of World of Warcraft composer Jason Hayes’ video game tribute band “Critical Hit.” She has also recorded for many films, albums, and theme park rides, and performed with Nintendo Company for their 50th anniversary of Super Mario as a hired musician, to name a few notable experiences.

In addition to her solo career, she has had numerous small ensemble performances with her chamber ensemble, ACE Trio. The trio won the 2018 Beverly Hills National Auditions chamber ensemble competition and has participated in a multitude of recital series including at the Brand Library, Music by the Sea Series in Encinitas, The Interludes in Torrance, Pasadena City College Guest Artist Series, and Wrightwood Classical Concert Series. In the summer of 2019, they were deemed the Music Teacher Association of California’s guest artist for their convention in Santa Clara where they performed a recital, held master classes, and premiered a triple concerto composed by their own member, Ryan Glass, for the final concert. ACE Trio recorded their first album in the spring of 2020, featuring music by Astor Piazzolla.

Shannon obtained her MM in flute performance at Cal State Northridge studying with Heather Clark, where she won first place for the Cal State Northridge Concerto Competition. She obtained her BA at the University of Redlands in flute performance studying with Sara Andon and studied with Jamie Pedrini at Pasadena City College beforehand. In addition to performing, Shannon is also the Professor of Flute at Cal Poly Pomona University, Citrus College, and Los Angeles Pierce College teaches an additional private studio at home, and holds weekly flute masterclasses with numerous high schools. In the springtime, she is also an official adjudicator for the Music Teachers Association of California and for the San Diego Flute Guild Festival and is continuously invited to give master classes to art schools and colleges throughout California. Shannon has been teaching privately for over a decade and her students have moved on to win principal positions in youth orchestras and honor bands, as well as winning positions in the Tournament of Roses Honor Band since 2016. Other students of hers have moved on to become music majors in many prestigious colleges including Indiana University.