Tri-City Band Corps



2025-26 School year Program details



Locations





East Bay:

Stratford Middle School

43077 Osgood Rd.

Fremont, CA 94539



South Bay:
Stratford Preparatory
3800 Blackford Ave.
San Jose, CA 95117



General Info





Starting Sat, Oct 25, 2025

Ending: Sat, May 23, 2026

​Year End Concert:

May 23rd, 2026

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM



Requirements:
All students must attend the concert

Student Materials Needed:
-Instrument (+accessories)
-Music Stand
-Essential Elements Book
-Tuner
-Metronome (optional)



Beginning Orchestra





Fremont:

Saturdays 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM


San Jose:

Saturdays 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM​



Requirements:
Grade 4+

Must attend the Spring Concert





Sectionals





Sectionals are led by students who specialize in your instrument, providing instrument-specific instruction to help speed up your learning. Sectionals are crucial for student success and are the reason why we've been able to progress 4 times faster than most other programs.



FULL ENSEMBLE CONCERT REHEARSALS





Concert rehearsals allow students to learn how to play and blend with other students in a team environment. By working together, students can perform advanced concert pieces showcased at our year-end concert.



Instruments Offered





Instruments Offered: Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass

​



Year End Concert





We will have a concert at the end of the year to show off everything that our students have achieved. Last year's concert at San Mateo Performing Arts Center featured over 400 performers and 700 audience members.



Donations




Each year, it costs us over $100,000 to operate our programs for facility rentals, MakeMusic licenses, sheet music, concert hall rentals, staffing, operations, insurance, thank-you gifts for our TAs, and so much more. It is also our core value that music programs be available for all students regardless of their financial status. To that end, we have provided FREE options for all students as well as instrument rentals for low-income families. We ask that families who can support the program with a financial donation please do so, but for those who cannot, parents may instead volunteer their time at TBC events and fundraisers to offset the cost for their child. Families needing additional support should reach out to us for options. If your child chooses cello or string bass, there will be no donation/volunteering requirement.


Additionally, there the violin has a minimum donation requirement to select at the Beginning level due to its popularity and demand. This way, donors get priority for its spots, and we keep those instruments in proportion in relation to the rest of the orchestra. However, all TBC returning students will still get their first-choice instrument regardless of the minimum donation requirement.The donations are as follows:



Violins: $500

Violas: $500 (or 20 hours of volunteering)



*Siblings receive a 25% discount on the same or lower-level membership

**All contributions are considered donations and are fully tax-deductible

***50% of all corporate matching donations will be counted towards your student

You can find a full, transparent, view of our finances and the impact of parent donations here.





General Member





$0-$499



  • 4 shifts of parent volunteering required
  • Late notice performance addition or drop requires an additional 10 hours of parent volunteering


1 shift = 4 hours of volunteering



Bronze Member





$500
/School Year



  • No Volunteer Requirement
  • Late notice performance add and drop requires an additional shift of parent volunteering
  • No penalty for absences
  • Beginning students are guaranteed one of their top 5 instrument choices
  • Recognition on TBC Website
  • 10% Discount on Concert Tickets
  • TBC Baseball Cap




Silver Member





$750
/School Year



  • No Volunteer Requirement
  • No late notice performance add or drop penalty
  • No penalty for absences
  • Beginning students are guaranteed one of their top 3 instrument choices
  • Recognition on TBC Website
  • 15% Discount on Concert Tickets
  • TBC Baseball Cap
  • TBC T-shirt
  • 2 Free concert tickets


Gold Member





$1000
/School Year



  • No Volunteer Requirement
  • No late notice performance add or drop penalty
  • No penalty for absences
  • Beginning students are guaranteed their 1st choice instrument
  • Recognition on TBC Website
  • 20% Discount on Concert Tickets
  • TBC Baseball Cap
  • TBC T-shirt
  • Rotating TBC gift
  • 4 Free concert tickets
  • 5% discount on instrument purchase through TBC


Platinum Member





$1500
/School Year



  • No Volunteer Requirement
  • No late notice performance add or drop penalty
  • No penalty for absences
  • Beginning students are guaranteed their 1st choice instrument
  • Recognition on TBC Website
  • 25% Discount on Concert Tickets
  • TBC Baseball Cap
  • TBC T-shirt
  • Rotating TBC gift
  • 10 Free concert tickets
  • 10% discount on instrument purchase through TBC


2025-26 Calendar





About Us





TBC's Aurora Regiment is a beginning level music ensemble for elementary school students entering grade 4 and up. The program's structure is to ensure maximum learning for beginners. Come see why as much as 70% of section leaders at local schools participated in TBC programs!

  • Students will attend sectionals, allowing them to interact with other kids who play the same instrument and learn from a dedicated instrument specialist.
  • Students will also attend a full-ensemble rehearsal to learn teamwork and how to perform with others for our annual concerts.
  • We also provide all students with MakeMusic access, video lessons, music theory quizzes, virtual makeup class, and playing tests all designed to ensure continual learning.

This program is completely FREE for all, but donations are highly encouraged to help us keep this program available. Families who are unable to donate will be asked to volunteer their time instead to help support TBC activities and fundraisers.



2025-26 SCHOOL YEAR
VOLUNTEER INFORMATION


TA REGISTRATION

Starting: Saturday, Oct 26th, 2025

Ending: Saturday, May 23rd, 2025


Locations:

East Bay: Stratford

43077 Osgood Rd,

Fremont, CA 94539

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM


South Bay: Stratford Preparatory

3800 Blackford Ave.

San Jose, CA 95117​

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM



CURRENT STAFF



Kuanhsuan "Kitty" Chen

East Bay Director


Kuanhsuan Chen is a violinist and music educator with a B.A. in Music from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She currently teaches as the Elementary Music Teacher and Middle School Orchestra Director at Stratford School. Ms. Chen is passionate about helping students build strong musical foundations, develop confidence, and enjoy the learning process through engaging and supportive instruction.




Je-Shiuan Hsu


South Bay Director


Cello teacher based in the Bay Area with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Cello Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. I have served as Assistant Principal Cellist with the Central Texas Philharmonic and as a member of the Waco Symphony. In addition to my primary expertise in cello, I have also studied beginner-level violin and double bass.



STUDENT STAFF



PRISHA PATEL



Executive Director of Elementary Programs



Prisha Patel is a sophomore at American High School. This is their fifth or more year in TBC, and they play oboe. If Prisha won the lottery, she would first set some aside to save for the future. She would invest a portion of the money and use the rest to travel around the world. Prisha's biggest pet peeve is when the internet gets slow right when she starts working on something. Her favorite pasta shape is the twisted shape (fusilli) because that is the pasta shape that used to be served at Sweet Tomatoes before they closed.​



ANNABELL SZE



Deputy Director of Elementary Programs



Annabell Sze is a junior at Mission San Jose High School. This is their second year in TBC, and they play baritone/euphonium. If Annabell were to win the lottery, she’d go on vacation to Hong Kong. With a fortune in her pocket, she’d eat unhealthy amounts of dim sum, egg waffles, and pineapple buns. Annabell’s biggest pet peeve is slow or unstable internet. Should her streaming buffer more than twice, or the loading circle spin for over 20 seconds, she will request access to your hotspot. Conchiglie pasta is Annabell's favorite pasta shape. She says it holds sauce better than the other shapes and never becomes mushy. She likes that it comes in multiple sizes and can be found virtually anywhere.



SHREY KARMACHARYA



Deputy Director of Elementary Programs (East Bay Int/Adv)



Shrey Karmacharya is a freshman at Mission San Jose High School. This is his first year in TBC, and he plays percussion. Shrey's dream place to live in is none other than the San Francisco Bay Area. He's lived there basically his whole life, and he loves it because of the diverse people, tasty food, calm weather, many amenities, and its status as a hub for technology. Also, just about everyone he knows lives there too. If he were a time traveller, Shrey would first visit ancient Greece and Rome and enjoy a simpler life, thinking with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. If Shrey could speak one animal language fluently, he would choose to communicate with dogs. Widely regarded as man's best friend, he thinks they're funny, cute, caring, and wise enough to talk with.



YOUZE LIN



Deputy Director of Elementary Programs (Beg/Bagpipes)



Youze Lin is a junior at Mission San Jose High School. This is their third year in TBC, and they play baritone saxophone. If Youze won the lottery, he would spend it on paying off his debts and donating the rest to the Ronald McDonald Foundation. Youze's biggest pet peeve is when someone tries to initiate a conversation while he is enjoying food. His favorite pasta shape is the one that makes spaghetti because spaghetti is one of the foods of all time.



DARIAN KELL



Deputy Director of Elementary Programs (Tri-Valley)



Bio Coming Soon!



EVAN HONG



Deputy Director of Elementary Programs (South Bay Beg)



Coming Soon!



JASON KWON



Deputy Director of Elementary Programs (South Bay Int)



Bio Coming Soon!



Advantages of Band



Brain Development



  • Music is an extremely important subject for all students to learn and can lead to better brain development, increases in human connection, and even relief from stress.
  • Learning to play a musical instrument in childhood stimulates cognitive development and leads to enhanced skills in a wide variety of areas and boosts creativity.
  • Musically trained students excel in cognitive and executive function skills, like holding multiple ideas in mind at the same time compared to students who are disengaged from bands.
  • Music also improves listening skills and children are better at detecting speech sounds so that they can communicate more effectively.


Career Development



  • Band training is a great example of a complex skill developed through effortful, mindful, and informed practice. It helps students adopt a growth mindset and build grit, determination, and self-confidence.
  • Benefiting from band and taking music lessons has been shown to correlate with better overall academic performance and higher IQ scores. It improves performance across the board like working memory, vocabulary, and acquiring a second language.
  • Students have noticed measurable brain benefits from a band program, benefits that extend beyond social and emotional factors.


Multi-Tasking



  • Students are generally not very good at multitasking. Our brains aren’t well equipped to focus on many things at once, though our education and success demands it.
  • Musicians tend to show better working memory and better performance on tasks of executive function that require rapid shifts of attention.
  • Making music is an all-encompassing experience that requires doing many complex tasks at once: listening, imagining, creating, executing complex movements, coordinating many different body parts, and adapting to changing circumstances.


Sense of Community



  • The flexibility of group size, the thrill of performance, the feeling of joint accomplishment, and the acquisition of a skill can be shared with others throughout life.
  • Performances provide a space for neighbors to gather and interact, which is becoming increasingly rare.
  • Children who participate in music programs have been shown to talk and collaborate more, fostering a sense of community.
  • Music programs have a substantial positive effect on their surrounding communities.


Call to Action



  • Music training enhances brain development and improves everything from language and literacy to reasoning and creativity.
  • Music-making increases connectivity in the brain, giving kids an edge when it comes to integrating information and coordinating thinking and behavior.
  • Children with music training also gain a boost in working memory and executive function — both of which are necessary for critical thinking, decision-making, and other tasks that require focus.


Research Studies



  • In a U.S. study, students who participated in group music were less likely to engage in risky behaviors, particularly related to alcohol use, compared with their untrained peers. These same students were also more likely to report liking high school, had a higher GPA, and were more likely to be attending college full-time at the right age.
  • In another study, primary school children were exposed to either music training or enhanced natural science lessons. After 18 months, the music students outperformed their science-trained counterparts on measures of working memory. This result included the core cognitive function affecting performance in several different domains, from creative writing to math.


Our Mission



Supporting Music Programs



Since 2000, local schools have lost more than 50% of elementary band sections which is now resulting in decreasing enrollment in music programs at the junior high and high schools. A big part of our mission is to build a pipeline for developing musical talent for local schools. We encourage all of our students to take band at their local school through a series of counseling workshops each year. We do our best to maintain the quality and standards our students have come to expect. Additionally, we are providing community service hours for high school students who need these hours to graduate.



Supporting Local Music Stores



Since the beginning TBC has partnered with local music stores to provide instruments to students. We send out flyers on their behalf and encourage all of our students to rent their first instrument until they decide that they are ready to buy a quality instrument. At the moment, we only provide bagpipe chanters as these are not carried by local music shops. In the future, we hope to be able to provide a limited number of free instrument rentals to students from low-income families to allow more students to participate.



Supporting Local Music Teachers



We are growing the number of kids involved in music throughout our community, which has in turn led to a larger number of students seeking professional music instruction. As our teaching program lasts approximately 2 years, we only provide the initial music instruction to get students started on their instruments. We encourage all of our students to seek professional music instruction once they are interested in continuing their instrument. We provide a free listing of local music teachers and send out messages on their behalf to our students. Additionally, we hire local music teachers when possible to provide instruction to our beginning students.