Kick off the fall season with some live music, electric dance performances, and stunning artwork from local high school students.
Thurgood Marshall Secondary School will be holding its annual Fall Festival at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9, on the campus’s north quad. The festival will be an open-air event. The event will feature performances from the school’s band, orchestra, choir, and dance departments, with each group performing a variety of festive musical pieces. Students from the visual art and design department will also display their artwork.
Admission to the festival is free; however, it is recommended that attendees bring their own lawn chairs or picnic blankets for seating and warm sweaters to keep cozy during the outdoor celebration. Food concessions will be available in the Casa Grande parking lot, and most of the proceeds will go toward the Marshall Arts Department’s New York City trip, from March 26-28, 2026.
During the trip, Marshall dance, choir, orchestra, and band students will have the opportunity to visit NYC and even perform at Riverside Church in Manhattan. The drama students will attend a local workshop.
“Our theme, loosely, is music from the movies, so most selections come from a movie that hopefully people will have heard of,” choir director and AP music theory teacher Michelle Espinosa said.
In addition, a group made up of all choirs, accompanied by the chamber orchestra, will sing the school’s alma mater. With the school’s name changing from John Marshall Fundamental School to Thurgood Marshall Secondary School this past year, the alma mater was introduced along with the new moniker.
The event will also feature a special performance featuring Principal Lori Touloumian performing “Dance the Night Away” with the advanced dance class led by director Darcy Naganuma. Touloumian is an active supporter of the arts at Marshall, having already made numerous appearances
as a singer for the Marshall Jazz Band, which is headed by band director James Pappalardo. Touloumian was formerly the principal at Eliot Arts Magnet Academy.
Orchestra director Heather King expressed optimism about the program. “I think we’re doing really well. There’s a lot of talent in every single orchestra, honestly,” King said.
For students, the festival is an opportunity to showcase their hard work and the skills they have developed in class.
“I’m performing with every group this year, so I’m going to be running around a lot, but I also get to have fun just doing what I love, playing music,” junior Santiago Smith-Ruiz stated.
He will be playing saxophone with the jazz and marching bands, singing with the Chamber Choir, and playing percussion for an orchestra piece.
“The fall festival is an abundance of arts, fun, and performance,” Thurgood Marshall media coordinator Felita Kealing said.
Thurgood Marshall Secondary School is a public school in the Pasadena Unified School District recognized for its challenging academic curriculum and strong Visual & Performing Arts Program.. For more information, contact Felita Kealing, Marketing and Community Relations at Kealing.Felita@pusd.us. Principal Lori Touloumian – Touloumian.Lori@pusd.us Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Elizabeth Blanco
www.pusd.us/Marshall – 626-396-5810
