Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization

DONATE

Set your own goals.
Learn at your own pace and on your time.
Bring your skills to the next level!

45-Minute Virtual Lessons
Single – $50
4-Pack – $180 ($45 per lesson)

REGISTER

Los Angeles County music students: If you are attending a Los Angeles County High School, you are eligible for a sponsored (free) 4-pack of lessons, courtesy of a grant provided by the American Century Investments Foundation. Email Mark Kveton at mkveton@pacific-crest.org to register.

Lessons

(See instructors below for active lesson types):
Brass: Trumpet, Mellophone, French Horn, Trombone, Baritone, Euphonium, Tuba
Woodwinds: Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone
Colorguard
Field Conducting
Percussion (Coming Soon): Snare, Tenor, Bass, Mallets, Drum Set

Questions? Email us.

Instructors

BRASS

 

WOODWIND

 

COLORGUARD

 

FIELD CONDUCTING

Andrew Fresquez
Trombone
Andrew Fresquez

ANDREW FRESQUEZ spent his drum corps career at Pacific Crest, playing baritone from 2014-2016, and moving on to take the role of assistant drum major in 2017 and served as the Head Drum Major during his age-out season in 2018. He also served as a Drum Major for the 2019 Pacific Crest Rose Parade Ensemble.

Andrew is currently studying Music Performance on Bass Trombone at California State University, Fullerton. After, he plans to pursue his teaching credential. He also holds an A.A in Music and Social & Behavioral Studies from Riverside City College.

He currently works with Etiwanda High School as a music instructor, and Rancho Cucamonga High School as a visual instructor.

Andrew resides in Fullerton, California.

Bobby Bonslater
Trumpet

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.

 

Joelle Varner
Tuba

JOELLE VARNER is currently a full-time graduate student pursuing a Master of Music in Music Education at Texas State University, where she works as a graduate assistant with the Bobcat Marching Band, Bobcat Basketball Band, and Concert Band. At Texas State, she studies tuba with Raul Rodriguez and conducting with Dr. Caroline Beatty.

Joelle was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and she received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Delaware in 2013 with a tuba concentration and a voice minor. While at UD, she studied tuba with Brian Brown and marched for four years with the UD Marching Band. Joelle has taught elementary band and orchestra in Harford County, Maryland, as well as middle school band, chorus, general music, and musical theatre in Long Hill, New Jersey.

Joelle marched tuba with the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps in 2012 and conducted the corps in 2013. She also marched cymbals in WGI with United Percussion in 2014. After aging out, Joelle served as a brass and visual instructor for the Raiders Drum & Bugle Corps (DCI) and Windsor Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps (DCA), in addition to working with several high school marching programs in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Texas.

Matt Miller
Baritone, Euphonium

MATT MILLER holds a Master of Music degree in film scoring from the University of Southern California as well as a Bachelor of Music degree in music composition from California State University, Long Beach.

Matt marched five years with the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps (2015-2019) as a euphonium soloist and section leader, receiving the Brass Member of the Year award during his age-out summer. He also performed with Dark Sky Percussion in 2016 as a member of the cymbal line.

Since 2016, Matt has taught as a music and visual instructor at Gahr High School in Cerritos, CA. In addition to teaching, he is an active arranger and composer for ensembles throughout Southern California. Matt joined the Pacific Crest brass team in 2022.

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.

Star Wasson
French Horn, Mellophone

STAR WASSON is a French horn player based out of Redlands, CA, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Music Performance at the University of Redlands. She began her performance career in Austin, TX and continued performing on the field with Music City Drum Corps (2015-2016) and The Bluecoats (2017).

Although her degree is in performance, Star takes pride in her work as an educator. She puts great emphasis on ensuring that her students see growth in themselves throughout their seasons, regardless of their individual starting abilities. Star is currently the Visual and Brass Caption Head at Jurupa Hills HS and A.B. Miller HS, and is on the visual staff at Rancho Cucamonga HS.

Outside of teaching and performing, Star enjoys rock climbing, yoga, knitting, and spending time with her cat Minerva.

Zach Sheller
Baritone, Euphonium, Trombone, Tuba

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.

Angel Chacon
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.

Bobby Bonslater
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.

Chadd Hartman
Colorguard

Photo_ChaddHartmanCHADD HARTMAN was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, where he attended Las Vegas High School and the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Hartman began his pageantry career with the Crossmen, where he was a performer with a variety of roles from 2009-2012. He then went on to perform with the Independent World group Fantasia Winterguard in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017.

In his teaching career, Hartman has worked with a plethora of scholastic groups in the Southern California area as a director, designer, choreographer, and graphic artist. He worked as a technician and choreographer for The Academy from 2015-2017, and spent his 2018 summer with Carolina Crown. In 2019, he joined the Pacific Crest family as a choreographer on the design team and on the color guard technical staff.

He is currently the Director of Color Guards at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, CA and has been with the program since 2018, while also serving as the Director of Color Guard at Gahr High School in Cerritos, CA since 2021.

Bianca Dulong
Field Conducting

BIANCA DULONG is an alumna of Pacific Crest, having spent two years as a mellophone player from 2017-2018 and three years on the Drum Major team from 2019-2021. She also participated in the 2019 Rose Parade Ensemble and was a featured vocal performer in the 2021 DCI season. Outside of Pacific Crest, her performance experience includes the 2022 Pulse Percussion Ensemble.

Bianca is currently attending California Polytechnic University, Pomona studying Kinesiology with plans to pursue an M.D. She is a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority, serving as their Vice President of Recruitment and Marketing. Bianca also works as a visual and Drum Major instructor at Baldwin Park High School.