Fauxchella 2026 (Photo – Jennifer Hall Lee)
It was a packed audience on Saturday, May 16, for the annual Eliot Arts Magnet middle school student concert showcase called Fauxchella.
By Jennifer Hall Lee
Among the lineup at the Eliot Arts/McKinley Arts field were PUSD student concert rock bands, choir, orchestra, and concert bands with their music teachers supporting them every step of the way.
Parents and friends packed the green grassy field on blankets and cheered on their passionate musicians.
There was also a special performance by Altadena Arts Magnet Elementary school choir who sang a rockin’ rendition of Bill Withers’ Lean on Me.
Principal McKenzie said, “Fauxchella is an example of the high energy and high quality events at Eliot Arts Magnet.”
Fauxchella: A PUSD Original
Fauxchella is a PUSD original. Eliot Principal Lanisha Mckenzie said there were 23 acts in this fourth year of the event.
Principal McKenzie said, “Fauxchella is an example of the high energy and high quality events at Eliot Arts Magnet.”
Specifically, it is the circa 2020 brainchild of two women: McKinley Data Clerk and Registrar Ms. Felicia Lee when she worked at Eliot in creative collaboration with then-parent volunteer Ms. Courtney Scrabeck who taught students to design and construct theater costumes.
Lee and Scrabeck were discussing the student musical opportunities at Eliot and according to Lee they wanted to “showcase our music, drama, dance, and art departments” because of their “strong passionate team of teachers who wanted to pour all of their knowledge into a bunch of young, gifted, and talented students.”
Scrabeck, a graduate of the Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising (FIDM) who is now a John Muir High School CTE Technical Theater teacher, said, “We wanted families and community members to wander through campus and hear the jazz band and rock band and see the art and costumes displayed. It was important for us to show that supporting public schools is beneficial to the students as well as community members.”
After creative discussion, Lee said “Fauxchella” was born as “a playful smaller version of Coachella,” the internationally popular music festival.
Music in Pasadena Unified School District
Student access to music in the PUSD is impressive. Karen Anderson, the PUSD Arts & Enrichment Coordinator said, “We have 14 elementary schools, and over 7000 students have benefitted from music this year, including our pre-K students, in partnership for music and movement with the Bloom Music Foundation.”
Supporting our middle schools with music is essential, and PUSD just had their Elementary School Music festival. Anderson said, “Over the past ten years, we have gone from 30% participation in [grades] 3-5 only,” and now PUSD has “100% music instruction for every student in every school every week from TK-5.”
The fourth annual Fauxchella concert on Saturday was a fusion of energetic talented PUSD musical students supported by happy parents and dedicated teachers.
Scenes from Fauxchella 2026 (Photo – Jennifer Hall Lee)
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