Meet the Musicians

Principal Concertmaster

Caroline Campbell has been featured onstage playing solos with artists ranging from Josh Groban to Garth Brooks to Michael Bublé. She is highly in demand in Los Angeles studios and can be heard on the recent albums of major recording artists like Destiny’s Child and Andrea Bocelli. Ms. Campbell can also be heard on numerous major movie scores and has made television appearances such as the Grammy’s, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and American Idol. Campbell has won numerous awards in national and international competitions including top prizes in the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland and its prestigious Paganini Prize, top violin prize in the Klein International String Competition, Grand Prize in the Corpus Christi International Young Artists Competition and its best solo Bach prize, and many more.

Associate Concertmaster

Marisa Sorajja made her solo debut with orchestra at age fourteen, and has since performed throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. Ms. Sorajja is the former concertmaster of the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, the Colburn Orchestra, and the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. She has also been a past participant in the Aspen Music Festival, the International Holland Music Sessions, New York String Orchestra Seminar, and the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition. Ms. Sorajja has performed in many prestigious venues such as the Philharmonie of Berlin, Kurhaus Scheveningen in The Hague, Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, and the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain. She has also had numerous television and radio appearances in the US and Thailand, and has also been featured in the Bangkok Post, and Thailand’s GM magazine. Ms. Sorajja obtained her artist diploma under Robert Lipsett at the Colburn Conservatory of Music.

Assistant Concertmaster

Ina Veli grew up in a musical family and began studying the violin at the age of 5. At 13, she began touring throughout Europe, as well as participating in competitions in Hungary, Italy and Albania. In 2005, Ms. Veli completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Oklahoma winning the concerto competition. She is the recipient of the first prize at Crescendo Rotary of Tulsa Competition. To further her studies, Ms. Veli moved to Los Angeles to complete her master’s degree in the prestigious violin performance program at the University of Southern California. She has studied with known professors such as, Felicia Moye, Cho Liang Lin, and Alice Schoenfeld. In addition, she has attended the Texas Music Festival, ARIA Music Festival, Aspen Summer Music Festival and RoundTop International Festival and has been selected and performed in the masterclasses of Pinchas Zuckerman, Anne Akiko Meyers, American String Quartet and Tokyo Quartet. Ms. Veli regularly performs with the Pasadena Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Riverside Symphony, Redlands Symphony and many other ensembles in the Southern California region sharing the stage with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang and Itzhak Perlman. Her non-classical experiences include live performances, TV appearances and recording sessions of film music. As a first violinist, she has recorded for the well-known act Everlast, David Foster, Dangermouse, Kurt Elling, Clay Aiken, Jonas Brothers, Kate Perry and William Joseph. Ms. Veli is a well sought after violinist, freelancing on a regular basis in Los Angeles.

Principal 2nd Violin

Elizabeth Hedman

Assistant Principal 2nd Violin

Yue Deng

Section Violin

Gloria Autry is a long-time member of the Santa Barbara Symphony, joining in 1955. Mrs. Autry stepped down from her position as Principal Second Violin after the 2009-2010 season. Mrs. Autry began her musical career age 7, when she attended a San Bernardino Symphony concert and was mesmerized by the violin. Her teen years were filled with music in school and church orchestras, solos for programs at community organizations, competitions, and auditions. She began playing with the San Bernardino Symphony at 13, and later with the Redlands Bowl Symphony. By age 15, Mrs. Autry held the Principal Second Violin position in both orchestras. Mrs. Autry moved with her husband and son to Santa Barbara in July 1955. Mr. Autry was a violinist as well, and both began performing with the Santa Barbara Symphony in its 3rd official concert season at the Lobero Theatre. Click here to read more.

Melissa Phelps Beckstead, a native of Los Angeles, began her violin studies at age five. She is the youngest member of five, in a prestigious family of professional string players. Performing together they have toured over a dozen European countries, have been featured on T.V. (KCET) and radio (KFAC) and have released many classical recordings; one of which is in the Library of Congress. By age ten, Ms. Beckstead appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She is a winner of many awards and competitions; most notably the V.O.C.E., Young Artists Guild and the International Coleman Competitions. Ms. Beckstead is a graduate from Crossroads and studied at the New England Conservatory with Dorothy DeLay. She has a bachelor’s degree in music from California State University, Northridge. She has performed as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician with the festivals of Ojai, Banff, Aspen, Sun Valley, Santa Fe, Mainly Mozart, Spoleto- Italy, Japan and MuPhi Epsilon 2003. Ms. Beckstead has performed with such classical artists as Itzhak Perlman, Luciano Pavarotti, Yoyo Ma, Pinchas Zuckerman, Mstislav Rostropovich,Van Cliburn, etc. In the more popular arena of music, she has performed/appeared in music videos and has made over a hundred soundtrack recordings for Phonograph, TV, Film and commercials at most of the studios in Hollywood. Ms. Beckstead is concertmaster and a frequent soloist of the Santa Cecilia Orchestra. She is co-concertmaster and soloist with the West Coast Chamber Orchestra and has been a member with the Santa Barbara Symphony and New West Symphony since 1993. Ms. Beckstead also plays viola with the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic & the Classical Concert Chamber Orchestra. As well as maintaining her own private violin/viola studio, she has been on the music faculty since 1993 at California Lutheran University where she is a violin/viola instructor, concertmaster/principal violist and annual soloist with the University Symphony.

Amy Hagen has been a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony since 1994. Ms. Hagen holds a Bachelors degree from UCSB under Ron Copes and a Masters degree from LSU under Sally O’Reilly. While living in Louisiana, she was a member of the Baton Rouge Symphony and performed with the New Orleans Symphony and the Acadian Symphony. Ms. Hagen has held teaching positions at the Thacher School, Ventura College, the Waldorf School and Santa Barbara City College’s Continuing Education. Having been raised in Ventura County, Ms. Hagen and her husband moved to rural Ojai in 2000 to raise their children. She co-founded the Ojai Youth Symphony in 2001 and is the Music Director of its two preparatory string ensembles. In 2005, she created the El Sistema-like program Got Strings? in the Ojai Unified School District, which provides free violins to public school students. She has written and received grants totaling $20,000 from sources including the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, the Julius Gius Foundation, the Gould Family Foundation and the Ojai Arts Council to purchase over 300 instruments currently in use at three different schools. Ms. Hagen volunteers her time to teach in the public schools and maintains a private studio of 50 students.

Sahak Karapetyan was born in Armenia and earned his M.A. in music performance from the Komitas State Conservatory. He joined the “Tagharan” Early Music Ensemble in 1983 and five years later became the Concertmaster and assistant Conductor representing Armenia during numerous performances in Western Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Russia. Other musical activities of Ms. Karapetyan include having been Concertmaster of the Yerevan Symphony Orchestra (Armenia), a co-founder, Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor of the “Armenian State Youth Opera House” and serving as the Music Director of the St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church in Glendale, California. Currently, Mr. Karapetyan is a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony, Redlands Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony and regularly plays as a substitute with the Long Beach Symphony and Riverside Philharmonic.

Ami Levy was the recipient of the “America-Israel Cultural Foundation for Young Artists Honorary Award” during his senior year at high school. He pursued his violin studies for five years under professor Ya’ir Kless at the Rubin academy of Music in Tel Aviv, Israel. Mr. Levy performed numerous chamber music and orchestra concerts with the Rubin Music Academy Symphony, Israel Young Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, and the Kibbutz Chamber Orchestra under Noam Sheriff, Yoav Talmi, Iona Brown & Sidney Harth, among others. During his decade long tenure with them, he toured Europe twice where he performed at such capital cities as: Paris, London, Berlin, Oslo, Brussels and Madrid as well as other major cities, in addition to Mexico and the U.S. Mr. Levy attended the Thornton School of Music at USC as a recipient of a full merit scholarship with the late celebrated violinist Professor Eudice Shapiro. Under her guidance, he received his Advanced Studies Certificate with “outstanding achievement”. Since then, he has performed extensively with such well known orchestras as: Santa Barbara Symphony, Hollywood Bowl orchestra, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, New West Orchestra, Glendale and Redlands Symphonies. His frequent solo and chamber music appearances include a strong Jewish musical emphasis. Mr. Levy is a freelance musician for special events, recordings for film scores and records and a featured violinist on TV series, DVD’s, films and the internet. Mr. Levy is also the founder and the director of “The Magic of Classics” Music Ensembles and he co-founded the “Tzavta” String Trio. His group specializes in variety of musical styles, including: Classical, Jewish, Klezmer, religious, and Broadway standards.

Jacqueline Suzuki grew up in San Francisco, California and studied violin and chamber music in New York City with William Kroll at the Mannes College of Music. She received her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, and is an alumna of the Music Academy of the West. Ms. Suzuki has been a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony since 1980 and is also a longtime member of the Long Beach Symphony. Ms. Suzuki also works as a freelancer in Los Angeles.

Jack Ullom came to Santa Barbara City College in 1969 to teach music and establish the Santa Barbara City College Symphony Orchestra, after teaching instrumental and choral music for two years at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo. Educated at San Jose State University, Stanford University, and University of Oregon in violin performance and musicology, Dr. Ullom has been a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony since 1969. He taught Basic Musicianship, Music Appreciation, Music History, String Pedagogy, and the Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years as well as serving as the Chairperson of the Music Department for 10 years. He also served as the President of the Instructor’s Association for 14 years and was honored as Faculty Lecturer in 1989. Beginning in January 2000, Dr. Ullom became a Dean of Educational Programs for the English, Fine Arts, and Social Science Divisions at SBCC and retired in 2006. This is his 40th season with the symphony.

In addition to the Santa Barbara Symphony, Adriana Zoppo plays regularly in the string sections of the Pacific and Long Beach Symphonies, as well as with numerous other orchestras and chamber music ensembles in the Southern California area in concerts at Disney Hall, UCLA, the Hollywood Bowl, LACMA’s Bing Theater and other venues. Ms. Zoppo  plays frequently for Broadway musicals, solo artist recordings and live shows encompassing musical styles from classical to jazz and has played for concerts and recordings with Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Madonna, Page and Plant (Led Zeppelin), Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and many others, and for the soundtracks of films, TV shows and video games, currently with “American Idol”. Also a baroque violinist, Ms. Zoppo performs with Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra and the original instrument ensemble the Los Angeles Baroque Players on violin and the rarely heard viola d’amore.

Lisa Dondlinger
Claude-Lise Lafranque
Calvin Lewis
Bethany Mennemeyer
Gladys Secunda
Linda Stone
Vartan Tigranyan
Jeanne Ullom
Thomas Yee

Principal Viola

Vacant

Assistant Principal Viola

Kaila Potts

Section Viola

Herman Markosian began playing violin at the age of five and has been playing viola since he was thirteen. He received his master’s degree in music performance from the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia. He also took Master Classes in Moscow with Grigori Zhislin. From 1990-1992, Mr. Markosian played with the Abkhazian State Orchestra. After moving to the USA in 1992, Mr. Markosian attended the Thornton School of Music at USC as a recipient of a full merit scholarship and studied with Pamela Goldsmith. Under her guidance, he received his Advanced Studies Certificate. Upon graduation from USC, Mr. Markosian toured as principal violinist with the YANNI Orchestra traveling to India, China, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the USA. He also toured with Andrea Bocelli and Harry Connick Jr. Mr. Markosian currently freelances in Los Angeles as a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony, the California Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pasadena Pops, the Burbank Chamber Orchestra, the New West Symphony, the Riverside Philharmonic, and the Santa Cecilia Orchestra. Mr. Markosian recorded for numerous movie scores, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Triple X, Unfaithful, Dreamcatcher, Seabiscuit, etc.

Alan Busteed studied as an undergraduate at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and completed graduate work at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He has served as a guest principal with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra and the Asian-American Philharmonic of Los Angeles. His viola credits extend to performances with the San Diego, Fort Worth, Long Beach and Redlands Symphonies, the Fresno Philharmonic, the St. Matthews Chamber Orchestra of Los Angeles and with the Desert Symphony in Palm Springs. As a recording artist he has collaborated with several Oscar winning composers for film music. His ongoing list of television credits at Capitol Records in Los Angeles includes viola work on scores for the shows Boston Legal, Fringe, Under Covers, Brothers and Sisters, and Grey’s Anatomy. Mr. Busteed has participated as a violist in summer festivals in Portugal, Italy, Spain, and throughout the United States. Alan studied viola under Ana Bela Chaves, and trained with professors from major French conservatories of Paris and Lyon, Bruno Pasquier and Tasso Adamopolus, respectively. On the violin, he has participated in Master Classes of Yehudi Menuhin, Henryk Szeryng, Vladimir Spivakov, Zakhar Bron, Franco Gulli, Felix Andrievski, Yfrah Nieman, and Ruggiero Ricci. In Jazz, as a pianist/composer or as a violinist, he has coached with Billie Taylor, Yusef Latiffe, Don Cherry, and Barry Harris.

Diane Gilbert
Michael Lieberman
Valerie Malvinni
Laury Woods

Principal Cello

Trevor Handy

Assistant Principal Cello

Kristopher Khang has been heard as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in North America and Europe. Winner of the Young Musician’s Foundation’s Gregor Piatigorsky Memorial Cello Award, Mr. Khang has been named finalist and prizewinner of numerous competitions locally and nationally. Mr. Khang has collaborated in chamber music with such artists as Masao Kawasaki, Lynn Harrell, Alex Kerr, Ulf Hoelscher, Roberto Diaz, James Dunham, and Gary Graffman. Mr. Khang has taken part in festivals at Interlochen, Aspen, and Amelia Island. During the 2007 season, Mr. Khang served as a substitute player in the San Antonio Symphony and served as teaching assistant to Lynn Harrell at Rice University. Mr. Khang received his Bachelors degree at USC under Ronald Leonard and his Masters degree at Rice University under Lynn Harrell.

Section Cello

Jacqueline Greenshields received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1979. By 1981, she had earned her Master of Music degree in Cello Performance from the University of Southern California, where she was a student of Gabor Rejto. For three of those summers during her university years, she attended the Music Academy of the West where she fell in love with Santa Barbara. Ms. Greenshields is a long time member of the Santa Barbara Symphony and Opera Santa Barbara. She was also a member of the American Sinfonietta, a professional touring and recording Chamber Orchestra that traveled extensively throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as being the focal point in the summer music festival in Bellingham, Washington. Ms. Greenshields is very active as a chamber musician being a member of the Classics IV String Quartet, the Archangelo Flute Quartet and also holding the position of principal cellist of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. She has a full studio of private cello students young and old and enjoys reading, long distance bicycle touring, scuba diving, hiking, and dachshunds.

Geoffrey Rutkowski has an impressive career that has taken him to major cities in Europe and Southeast Asia for recital and concerto engagements. For two successive seasons he was invited to perform in the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino where he was Solo-Principal Cellist under such eminent conductors as Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Colin Davis and Mstislav Rostropovitch, in addition to performing solo and chamber music concerts with the esteemed Musicus Concentus. In the spring of 1985, at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture, he toured the People’s Republic of China, giving master classes and concerts. He is also a professor and Director of the String Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Professor Rutkowski has returned many times to Italy to perform recitals with the Italian pianist Giuseppi Modugno. In April, 2000, they recorded the two Brahms’ Sonatas which were released in Italy in January of 2002. He maintains a busy concert and recital schedule throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

Originally from Troy,  Michigan, Jeffrey White began his cello studies at age 11 with Richard Piippo. After studying with Hans Jorgen Jensen at Northwestern University, he headed to California and in the spring of 2005 he received his Masters in Music Performance from the Thornton School of Music at USC. While at USC, Mr. White studied with Ronald Leonard and was a concerto soloist on baroque cello with the USC Early Music Ensemble. He also enjoyed a trip with the American Youth Symphony to perform at Carnegie Hall.  Since graduating, Mr. White has made Los Angeles his new home and is enjoying a busy schedule of performing with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and New West Symphony Orchestras among other groups. In addition to live performance, Mr. White has also worked in various film/tv recordings including Family Guy and American Dad. His many awards and honors include first prizes in the Michigan MTNA Solo Competition, the MASTA Chamber Music Competition, along with performances in the 2000 Stulberg and 2002 Klein International String Competitions. Mr. White is an alumnus of the Mancini Institute, Meadowmount School of Music, Interlochen Summer Academy, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West, where he served as principal cello. Mr. White is also a licensed California Realtor and has been building a 2nd career as a broker for residential real estate in Los Angeles.

Born in China, raised in Russia, Xiao-Dan Zheng’s musical education includes the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and USC. Ms. Zheng currently holds a tenured position as the Principal Cellist of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. She is also a tenured member of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, the New West Symphony, and is a regular sub with the Los Angeles Opera. Ms. Zheng has collaborated in chamber music concert at Carnegie Hall with Itzhak Perlman, soloed under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman in Ottawa, Canada, played at a master class given by Yo Yo Ma at USC, and lead as Principal Cellist in opera Don Giovanni under James Levine at Tanglewood Center. In addition to her musical career, Ms. Zheng is also a certified Massage Therapist, specializing in injury prevention and recovery for musicians. Ms. Zheng’s recent on-screen appearances include feature film FAME (2009), Fox Golden Globe winner TV series GLEE (episode.7), Placido Domingo: Celebrating 40 Years in Los Angeles (TV 2008), and Jimmy Kimmel Live! with singer Katie Melua (UK). Her cello solos in feature film Purity (2006), composed by George Shaw, won a Gold medal for the Most Musical Impact on Film at Park City Film Festival (Utah). Ms. Zheng has recorded albums for Joe Cocker, Ronnie Wood, and Justin Timberlake for SNL.

Paula Fehrenbach
Patricia Garvey Rynearson

Acting Principal Bass

Originally from New York City, Neil Garber began his studies with Donald Palma. After attending the High Sshool for the Performing Arts, he earned a Bachelors and Master’s degree from The Juilliard School where he studied with Homer Mensch. After moving to California, Mr. Garber attended USC, receiving a certificate in Advanced Studies. He is an active freelance bassist in the Santa Barbara and Los Angeles areas, performing with varied groups including Opera Santa Barbara, Los Angeles Opera, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and Santa Barbara Oratorio Society. He is the double bass instructor at UC Santa Barbara. When not playing or teaching, Neil is an avid cyclist and scuba diver. He also plays the ukulele.

Acting Assistant Principal Bass

Thomas Harte received his first double bass lesson during his final semester of high school. He quickly took to the instrument and to classical music. The following fall, he enrolled as a Music Performance Major at Southeast Missouri State University in his home town of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. After two years at Southeast, Mr. Harte transferred to The Juilliard School in New York City where he completed his undergraduate degree and Master’s Degree as a student of the legendary bass player and teacher, Homer Mensch. While at Juilliard, Mr. Harte performed in many guest artist master classes, including those given by Chris Hanulik, Peter Lloyd and Edgar Meyer. As a member of the Juilliard Orchestra, he performed under the baton of some of today’s most notable conductors such as David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, and Kurt Masur. Mr. Harte was asked to join the group for a tour of Asia and for the recording of “Concertos of My Childhood” with violinist Itzhak Perlman. Relocating to Houston, Texas, Mr. Harte studied with Paul Ellison and then to California to study at Thornton School of Music at USC, where he received an Artist’s Diploma as a student of David Moore of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As an active performer in Southern California, Mr. Harte enjoys playing a variety of musical styles with numerous groups throughout the region and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, San Diego Symphony, New West Symphony, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Santa Barbara Symphony, to name a few, as well as performing as a recording musician. Mr. Harte resides in Los Angeles with his wife Leah. When he is not playing the bass, he enjoys walking with his beagle RB, following the St. Louis Cardinals, surfing and practicing yoga.

Section Bass

James Bergman is a graduate of The Juilliard School where he was a student of David Walter. Performing regularly with the Los Angeles Opera and the Riverside Philharmonic, he has also been a member of the San Jose Symphony, performed with the Composers Ensemble at Princeton and at the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco. Mr. Bergman has recorded and toured extensively with Tirez Tirez  and the Mikel Rouse Broken Consort including performances at the Kitchen’s Gruppen Festival and the Bang on a Can Festival. He has recorded in a variety of genres for the Dreamworks, RoughTrade, Sire, Cuneiform, Crammed/Made to Measure, Le Disc Du Crepescule, Cold Blue Music, and PMRC/IRS labels. Jim is currently on the faculty of Santa Monica College and Pierce College.

Gary Lasley

Principal Flute

Francine Jacobs has been the Principal Flutist with the Santa Barbara Symphony since 1981. She  also plays Principal Flute in the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay, the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, and Opera Santa Barbara. She was a member of the Ventura Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orange County Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Jacobs has been a substitute musician with the Pacific Symphony, California Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony and the Chicago Symphony Orchestras. Ms. Jacobs has soloed with the Santa Barbara Symphony and the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay performing concerti of Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi. She is an active teacher and is a member of the Music Teachers Association of California. Her students have won the VOCE competition, Young Artist Guild, and Bach Festival contests. Several of her students have become music majors at the college level. Ms. Jacobs received the Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and the Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Section Flute

Katherine Marsh, originally from Bowling Green, Ohio, received her Bachelors of Music Degree from the Eastman School of Music studying under Bonita Boyd and a Master of Music Degree from the University of Southern California studying under Roger Stevens. Currently the solo piccolo player of the Santa Barbara Symphony, Ms. Marsh has performed with the New West and Long Beach Symphony Orchestras, the Pasadena Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Grand Opera and Master Choral. In addition to orchestral work, Ms. Marsh is a member of the California Music Teacher’s Association and performs regularly with her chamber music group Classical Blitz. Ms. Marsh lives in Granada Hills with her husband Jeff who is a composer and guitarist, and her son Patrick.

Jamie Pedrini is an active freelance flutist in the greater Los Angeles area. Her principal flute positions include California Philharmonic Orchestra, Pasadena Pops Orchestra, Westwood Chamber Orchestra and the Laguna Pageant of the Masters Orchestra. In addition to the Santa Barbara Symphony, she is a member of Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay and the Los Angeles Woodwind Quintet. Ms. Pedrini is also a former member of the Pacific Symphony and Los Angeles Pops Orchestra, and has performed with the Houston and San Diego Symphonies. She has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras including Arroyo Strings, Pasadena Pops, Irvine Symphony, Orange County Master Chorale, Burbank Symphony, Westwood Chamber Orchestra, West Coast Symphony and the California Philharmonic. Ms. Pedrini is active in the recording industry and also appears on many CDs. She has recorded in the orchestra with the Houston, Santa Barbara, Pacific and the California Philharmonic Orchestras and has released her first CD entitled Here to There. Her awards include Outstanding Teacher in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search and International Who’s Who in Music. She is currently on faculty at Chandler school and Pasadena City College. Ms. Pedrini received her Master of Music and Bachelor of Music from the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University where she graduated cum laude and studied with Albert Tipton. While at the Shepherd School, she received the prestigious Elva Kalb Dumas Award for Outstanding Musician. She attended the Aspen School of Music and performed in Master Classes with Julius Baker and Jean-Pierre Rampal.

Principal Oboe

Lara Wickes grew up in Corvallis, Oregon and has been a member of the Eugene Opera Orchestra and the Oregon Mozart Players. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from USC where she studied Allan Vogel, Joel Timm, and David Weiss. She also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts and a Bachelors degree from the University of Oregon. She plays regularly with many orchestras in the Los Angeles area, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and in several new music and chamber ensembles, such as the Nimbus Ensemble, Inauthentica, New Century Players, and Mladi. Ms. Wickes also plays baroque oboe, which she has played with Musica Angelica and the USC Early Music Ensemble. She is also a founding member of the Baroquen Reeds Oboe Band of Los Angeles. Appearances at music festivals have included the Lucerne Music Festival under the direction of Pierre Boulez, as well as the Spoleto Festival USA, the Henry Mancini Institute, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and solo performances at the Chintimini Festival in Oregon. Ms. Wickes has performed in Carnegie hall on both oboe and theremin, and she appeared recently in Walt Disney Concert Hall with the first 10-theremin ensemble to perform there since 1933.

Section Oboe

Sarah Beck

Principal Clarinet

Donald T. Foster is one of Southern California’s most active musicians, serving as Principal Clarinetist of both the Pasadena and Santa Barbara Symphonies. In addition, Mr. Foster is one of the regular principal clarinetists in the motion picture and television studios in Los Angeles, and can be heard on over 150 soundtracks for feature films. He is a frequent auxiliary/substitute musician with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and can be heard often as part of the Jacaranda Chamber Music Series in Santa Monica. Mr. Foster graduated from USC, receiving his Master of Music degree in 1996 while in the studios of Yehuda Gilad and Michele Zukovsky. He has received Fellowships from both the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals, the latter of which he attended for four consecutive summers. Mr. Foster is also a former first prize winner of the Pasadena Instrumental Competition, and has performed concertos with such organizations as the Los Angeles Mozart Festival, Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra, Marrowstone Music Festival, Westwood Chamber Orchestra, and the Aspen Music Festival. Prior engagements include serving as Principal Clarinet with the Philharmonie der Nationen based in Hamburg, Germany.  While with the Philharmonie he performed in over 250 concerts in virtually every major city in Europe. He has also served as Principal Clarinet of the Colorado Music Festival, in Boulder, Colorado, has been featured in Central America with his reed trio Trianche as a featured ensemble for the Costa Rica Music Festival, and has appeared with the Crown City String Quartet as part of the High Desert Chamber Music series in Bend, Oregon. Mr. Foster currently serves as Associate Professor of Music at Moreno Valley College in the Riverside Community College District and divides his time with residences in Palm Springs and the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.

Section Clarinet

Born into a musical family, Alicia Lee grew up in Michigan where she began her musical studies on the violin and piano at age 4. She made the switch to clarinet at the age of 12. Ms. Lee has performed under the batons of Pierre Boulez, Susanna Malkki, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, and David Robertson. Her orchestral appearances include the Spoleto festivals in Italy and America, the Lucerne Festival Academy, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, and Pacific Symphony. Ms. Lee’s chamber music experience includes performances at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and the Yellow Barn Music Festival, where she has performed for three summers. Ms. Lee has collaborated with many notable artists including Martin Chalifour, Peter Frankl, Anthony Marwood, Roger Tapping, and members of the Mendelssohn Quartet and Peabody Trio. As an active performer of contemporary music, Ms. Lee was selected to perform in two Carnegie Hall workshops performing the music of John Adams, under the baton of the composer, and Messiaen with David Robertson. She has worked closely with the members of the esteemed Ensemble Intercontemporain as a three-time member of the Lucerne Festival Academy. Ms. Lee has been the Eb clarinet player of the Santa Barbara Symphony since the Fall of 2006. She performs regularly in New York with a variety of groups, including the Knights Chamber Orchestra, the Talea Ensemble, The American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). Ms. Lee has studied with Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima at The Juilliard School as a part of the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange program. She holds a BA in French Language and Literature from Columbia University and an MM in clarinet performance from the University of Southern California. Ms. Lee recently completed a Professional Studies Certificate at the Colburn School as a student of Yehuda Gilad. Beginning in 2008, Ms. Lee served for two seasons as a fellow in The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute (ACJW). As a part of her fellowship, Ms. Lee was a teaching artist at PS 249K in Brooklyn. Ms. Lee continues to perform as a member of Ensemble ACJW.

Principal Bass Clarinet

James Sullivan

Principal Bassoon

Andy Radford is the principal bassoonist of the Santa Barbara Symphony and has soloed with the Santa Barbara Symphony in 2004, 2005 and 2009. He is also the Principal Bassoonist with the California Philharmonic and has also spent two years as the Solo Bassoonist of the Hofer Symphoniker, an orchestra in Germany. Additionally, Mr. Radford is the Education Coordinator for the Ojai Music Festival.  In this position, he works with the Ojai Music Festival’s Education Committee, Festival Artists-in-Residence and area schools to plan and schedule hundreds of musical education workshops in the schools.  Along with his wife, violinist Amy Hagen, Mr. Radford co-founded the Ojai Youth Symphony in 2001.  This orchestra has served young musicians from all over Ventura County. Mr. Radford became Music Director of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony in 2004 and serves on the faculty of UCSB and Westmont College as well as at the Thacher School in Ojai. Active in the recording industry, Mr. Radford has played in over 350 soundtracks including : Up! (winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Musical Score), Star Trek, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Back to the Future, Last of the Mohicans, The Negotiator, Dead Again, August Rush, Mission Impossible III and Forrest Gump. He has performed and recorded with artists such as; Neil Diamond, The Three Tenors, Dixie Chicks, Joshua Redmond, Pat Benatar, Brad Mehldau, The Moody Blues, Chuck Mangione, Chris Botti, The Who, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Josh Groban, Wayne Brady, Chick Corea, Michael Crawford and Faith Hill. Mr. Radford performed with virtually every orchestra in southern California during the twenty years he lived in Los Angeles.  He has performed with almost every classical music superstar of the last thirty years. Mr. Radford has performed on the GRAMMY telecast and played over 800 performances of the historic, first-run, Los Angeles production of Phantom of the Opera.

Section Bassoon

Sara Banta
Leslie Lashinsky

Principal Horn

Teag Reaves is a Los Angeles native and grew up studying the French horn with the great Los Angeles studio players. Mr. Reaves graduated from USC, where he honed his orchestral and chamber music experience with the help of Vince Derosa, Mitchell Lurie, and Yehuda Gilad. Mr. Reaves is also Principal Horn and a founding member of Mladi Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Horn of the Monterey Symphony. He plays with the San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay, and does music and film projects. Orchestra tours have taken Mr. Reaves around the world with Philharmonie of the Nations and Michael Crawford. But when he is home, he loves teaching kids to play the French horn.

Section Horn

Originally from Tennessee, Justin Hageman has performed and worked in many different capacities in the Los Angeles area as a free-lance horn player. He has performed with such varied artists as Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra Jr., Josh Groban, and Tony Bennett. He is an alumnus of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, the Brevard Music Center, and the Henry Mancini Institute. As an orchestral performer, Dr. Hageman is a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony and has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony, the New West Symphony, the Long Beach Symphony, and Broadway LA’s production of Wicked. He has also worked in the Hollywood recording industry; his credits including several motion pictures and albums as well as live television performances with the 2008 Academy Awards orchestra and at the 2006 American Music Awards. Additionally, in the spring and summer of 2008, he performed throughout Ireland and London with the Camerata Pacifica chamber ensemble and throughout Japan with the Percy Faith Jazz Orchestra. Dr. Hageman received his B.S. degree in Music Education with an emphasis on horn from Tennessee Technological University while studying with Arthur LaBar in 2001, and earned his Masters in Horn Performance from UCLA in 2003. In 2005, he completed the dual requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Horn Performance and Wind Conducting at UCLA under the tutelage of horn professor, Brian O’Connor and Director of Bands, Dr. Thomas Lee. Dr. Hageman devotes much of his time to teaching and has worked with students in both Tennessee and California at the elementary through the collegiate level. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Lindsey.

Stephanie Stetson received her Bachelor’s Degree in Horn Performance from USC. While attending USC, she had the privilege of studying with Jim Decker and Vincent DeRosa. She has been a freelance musician in Los Angeles ever since. Ms. Stetson regularly plays with the Pacific Symphony, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, and the Long Beach Municipal Band. She has performed in numerous Broadway shows at the Schubert, Ahmanson and Pantages Theatres such as: Wicked, Lion King, The Producers, Phantom of the Opera etc. She also has extensive studio recording experience in TV, radio, audio recordings and motion picture soundtracks. Ms. Stetson has been teaching at Azusa Pacific University since 2004 where she has taught Applied Horn, Horn Master Class, Horn Literature and Horn Pedagogy. She is a member of the APU Faculty WW Quintet. Ms. Stetson is married with 4 children. She loves her family very much and enjoys the blessings of a good family and good music every day of her life.

Sarah Bach

Principal Trumpet

Jon Lewis is currently in his 23rd season as a member of the orchestra as of the 2009-10 season. In addition to playing with the Santa Barbara Symphony, Mr. Lewis is active in the Los Angeles area recording scene and is a busy session player for movies, records and television, playing on over 500 movies and around 1000 television shows. Mr. Lewis is an active teacher, who does Masterclasses and Solo Concerts, both domestically and internationally. Mr. Lewis is also Co-Principal Trumpet in the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, where he has played for over 15 years. He performs with many groups in the Los Angeles area and is a charter member of the Los Angeles Chamber Brass. Mr. Lewis also teaches trumpet at California State University Northridge.

Section Trumpet

Originally from Los Angeles, Ray Nowak, is a trumpet player that does a wide variety of freelance work throughout Southern California. He is a member of the San Diego based brass quintet, Presidio Brass. Mr. Nowak has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony and Pops, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony and is currently a member of the California Philharmonic. Mr. Nowak was Assistant Principal Trumpet of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife for 5 years in the Canary Islands, Spain and has also held positions with Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Spain as Assistant Principal Trumpet, Festival della Valle d’Itria, Martina Franca, Italy as Principal, Orquesta de Baja California, Tijuana, Mexico as Principal, and the Royal Band at Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. Mr. Nowak maintains a busy private teaching studio and coaches for several middle school and high school band programs as well as being adjunct faculty at Long Beach City College. Mr. Nowak holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the California State University at Long Beach and a Masters Degree in Music Performance from UCLA.

Principal Trombone

A New Hampshire native, Andrew Malloy, attended the University of Massachusetts where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education degree. He continued his education at The Juilliard School where he received a Master of Music in Performance. After living and working in New York City, he relocated to Los Angeles where he now works as a freelance musician and performs as a regular member with the Santa Barbara, Pasadena, New West, Long Beach and Pacific Symphonies, as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Festival Mozaic and The Crown City Brass Quintet. In addition, Mr. Malloy plays regularly for many well-known film composers and has played on hundreds of film soundtracks including recent releases such as Date Night, Night at The Museum, Wolverine, 2012, Christmas Carol, Law Abiding Citizen, and Avatar As a solo recitalist,  Mr. Malloy has commissioned and premiered numerous works for solo trombone and trombone and piano. Mr. Malloy also teaches trombone at Cal State Northridge and Pepperdine University.

Section Trombone

Brad Close

Principal Tuba

Aubrey Foard is a critically-acclaimed tubist, whose solo performances have been broadcast throughout the United States on NPR’s “Performance Today,” as well as on WQXR New York. As a concert soloist, he has performed with orchestras in Chicago, Milwaukee, Charleston, SC, and Santa Barbara, CA. Mr. Foard is the only tubist to win the Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition twice, and has won first prizes in the 2002 Milwaukee Civic Music Association Harold A. Levin Scholarship Competition and the 2006 Entergy Young Texas Artist Competition. In 2003 and 2008, he was second place winner in the Minnesota Orchestra’s WAMSO Young Artist Competition. Additional solo broadcasts include KUHF Houston’s “Front Row” and KDB Santa Barbara. As an avid proponent of new music, Mr. Foard has commissioned a tuba concerto from Milwaukee composer Mark Petering and serves as the executive director of the Los Angeles Contemporary Ensemble. Mr. Foard is the principal tubist of the Santa Barbara Symphony, having been recently appointed to the position in May, 2010. He is also the principal tubist of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, performs as a freelance musician in Los Angeles, and with the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra in Charleston, SC. He has held positions with the symphony orchestras of Canton and Youngstown and has performed as a substitute with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New World Symphony. Mr. Foard holds a bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a master’s degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He is the first tuba player to graduate from The Colburn School’s Conservatory of Music, having earned an Artist Diploma in May of 2010.

Principal Timpani

Mark Zimoski started his studies with Ruth Underwood (percussionist with Frank Zappa) and went on to study with Mitchell Peters, timpanist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic; percussion instructor Ken Watson at USC, and Jack Van Geem, principal percussionist at the San Francisco Symphony. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from USC. Mr. Zimoski is also a timpanist at New West Symphony, but has played frequently as an extra/substitute with varying Los Angeles local groups including the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mark can be heard on many motion picture soundtracks as timpanist, percussionist, and electronic percussion/synthesist for composers Christopher Young, Don Davis, David Newman, Graeme Revell and others.

Principal Percussion

Eddie Meneses, a California native, joined the Santa Barbara Symphony as Principal Percussion in April of 2008. He is an active freelancer, having appeared with the Redlands Symphony, the Golden State Pops Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mr. Meneses teaches privately from his studio in West Los Angeles and is a guest clinician for various youth orchestras and schools. Mr. Meneses graduated from the University of Southern California in 2005, and in 2008 he completed his graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied with world renowned timpanist and percussionst Timothy K. Adams, Jr. Mr. Meneses is endorsed by JGpercussion and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Diana Morgan.

Principal Harp

Michelle Temple

Principal Piano/Keyboard

Natalia “Natasha” Kislenko* has performed extensively as a soloist and a collaborative pianist in Russia, Europe, and the United States. She has appeared in recital and chamber music performances with numerous distinguished soloists, including Sarah Chang, Torleif Tedeen, James Buswell, Zvi Zeitlin, Theodore Kuchar, Tadeu Coelho, and Leone Buyse, to name a few. As a soloist, Ms. Kislenko received top prizes in international piano competitions in Germany, Portugal, France, the Slovak Republic, and the United States. She made her solo recital debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 1996. Ms. Kislenko holds graduate degrees in piano from the famed Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia, the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University (Dallas), and the State University of New York, Stony Brook, where she completed her doctorate with Gilbert Kalish in 2004. In 2007 Ms. Kislenko moved to Santa Barbara to assume a teaching position at UC Santa Barbara. Previously, she served on the faculties of California State University, Fresno, and Meadowmount School of Music (New York). An alumna of the Music Academy of the West (2001), Ms. Kislenko has been a member of the faculty since 2004.