Tenured in 1992

Diane Alancraig enjoys a versatile career as a symphony and chamber musician, solo recitalist and teacher. Over the years, she has had the good fortune to work with some of the world’s most distinguished artists and musical organizations, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Long Beach Symphony. She has also toured widely in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Outside of music, Diane dabbles in auto mechanics, loves to cook, has a wonderful family, and works professionally as a photographer specializing in portraiture.

Diane is currently on faculty at California State University at Los Angeles.

Tenured in 1992

Diane Alancraig enjoys a versatile career as a symphony and chamber musician, solo recitalist and teacher. Over the years, she has had the good fortune to work with some of the world’s most distinguished artists and musical organizations, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Long Beach Symphony. She has also toured widely in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Outside of music, Diane dabbles in auto mechanics, loves to cook, has a wonderful family, and works professionally as a photographer specializing in portraiture.

Diane is currently on faculty at California State University at Los Angeles.

Tenured in June 2009

FRANK MARINO began his childhood education studying piano and violin in his native San Diego. By the year 1990, he had taken up string bass in the orchestra because he didn’t want to carry his violin to school everyday. Since then, Frank has been carrying his bass to rehearsals, lessons and festivals throughout California and across the country. He has studied with Gunner Biggs, Clifton Swanson, Paul Ellison, and Nico Abondolo, attended such festivals as the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Summer Festival in Catania, Italy, and earned a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California in 2005. Today Frank enjoys teaching music lessons and performing with various ensembles in Los Angeles County, and he loves the Long Beach Symphony.

Thomas B. Harte, Jr. received his first double bass lesson during his final semester of high school and quickly discovered his love of low notes. He went on to complete both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Juilliard School, followed by an Artist’s Diploma from USC. Choosing to remain in Southern California, Thomas enjoys the variety that being an L.A. musician brings. In addition to the Long Beach Symphony, Thomas has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, New West Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, and The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. He has also performed and recorded with notable pop artists including Andrea Bocelli, Taylor Swift, Josh Groban, Sting and Peter Gabriel.

Geoff Osika credits his musical training to three men: his father David, a fine trumpeter and music teacher who indicated that in order to be taken seriously as a musician the 15-year old would have to do more than just play in a rock band; John Schaeffer, former principal bass of the New York Philharmonic, who in two and a half years’ time conditioned the young bassist to gain acceptance at both the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music; and Roger Scott, former principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, who opened the methodical bassist’s ears to a deeper understanding of orchestral playing and repertoire.

After Curtis, Geoff embarked on several years of full-time orchestral jobs. He has held positions with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galícia in Spain, and the Oregon Symphony. From each place he took with him a wealth of musical and life experiences.

Geoff has been a part of the recording industry in Los Angeles for close to two decades.

A professional musician for over 30 years, cellist Kathleen Hood has been a member of the Long Beach Symphony since 1980. She has performed in a wide variety of contexts, including various professional orchestras, chamber ensembles, and film soundtracks. In addition to her B.A. in music performance from UCLA, she has also has received a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. from UCLA in ethnomusicology, and she specializes in music of the Near East. Since 1992, she has played cello in a variety of Arab music ensembles. She is also the founder and director of the Ondine Chamber Ensemble, a group that performs at weddings and other events.

Tenured in 2008

(Formerly known as Xiao-Dan Zheng)

Cellist Helen Z. Altenbach grew up in a family of musicians. Her cellist father was her primary teacher until she was accepted to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory at the age of 12, and later, to Juilliard Pre-College at 14. As a young musician, Helen frequently performed in Avery Fischer Hall, Juilliard Theater, Carnegie Hall (with Itzhak Perlman, as part of the Perlman Music Program), Alice Tully Hall, and many other venues as a soloist and a chamber musician.

Helen’s achievements include winning the Juilliard Pre-College Concerto Competition, Juilliard Honor Strings Competition, Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Young Artist Award, LaGuardia High School for Music, Arts, & Performing Arts Concerto Competition, ASCAP Ira Gershwin Award, and second prize in Corpus Christi Young Artist Competition. Her piano trio at Juilliard was featured on WQXR 93.6 Radio NY with host Robert Sherman and NPR “From the Top” show with host Christopher O’Riley.

In 2001, Helen moved to Los Angeles to study with Ron Leonard at USC’s Thornton School of Music. Shortly after graduation, Helen won the audition for the Long Beach Symphony. She also served as a regular substitute cellist for the San Diego Symphony, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. Between 2009-2012, Helen held a tenured Principal Cello position with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra but eventually moved back to L.A. after winning a permanant position with the L.A. Opera. Helen is now a tenured member of the L.A. Opera Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the New West Symphony Orchestra.

Her album “Grieg and Prokofiev” with pianist Clara Yang on Albany Records label won the 2014 Global Music Award Silver Medal. She is also part of the recording music industry for motion pictures and television in Hollywood.

Photo by Kat Tuohy Photography

Tenured in 2009

Cellist Kyle Champion has been a contracted member of the Long Beach Symphony since 2007, after working 10 years as a frequent substitute with the orchestra. He is currently principal cellist with the Redlands Symphony, and has performed with numerous area orchestras including the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, San Bernardino Symphony, Pasadena Pops Orchestra, and South Bay Chamber Orchestra. Kyle was a member of the American Sinfonietta, under the direction of conductor Michael Palmer, joining the ensemble on three European tours, participating in their Summer Music Festival in Bellingham, Washington, and can be heard on their Mendelssohn CD on the Summit Records label, and the Beethoven in Bellingham CD with renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson. In addition, he served as artist/faculty at the Wintergreen Music Festival in Charlottesville, Virginia. He rounds out his performing schedule playing chamber music recitals with the cello quartet Quatracelli!. Kyle has twice been featured soloist with the Redlands Symphony Orchestra, most recently performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in 2007.

Kyle has been instructor of cello at University of Redlands since 1995, and has served on the faculties of La Sierra University, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Oklahoma City University and Oklahoma Baptist University. He is also the co-founder of the Chamber Music Academy of Southern California, presenting chamber music classes for young musicians from elementary to high school age. He has recently been selected as the string orchestra director for the Webb School in Claremont.

Kyle completed his Master of Music degree in cello performance at the University of Southern California, where he was a student of Ronald Leonard, and his Bachelor of Music degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, studying with Marion Davies. He has studied chamber music with Donald McInnes, members of the New Hungarian String Quartet and the contemporary music ensemble, Voices of Change.

Kyle is married with two sons, and loves reading about military history and railroads in his spare time. He plays on a cello commissioned by him, made by the renowned contemporary luthier Christopher Dungey in 2001.

Tenured in 1970

Victoria Bacon was born in Los Angeles and raised in Long Beach, California. A student of the University of Southern California’s Preparatory Division, she also attended the Music Academy of the West and graduated from California State University at Long Beach, with a Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance. Her teachers were Gabor Rejto, Edgar Lustgarten, and Bernard Greenhouse.

During the summers, Victoria has performed for the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, Long Beach and Pacific symphonies, and the Flagstaff and Carmel Bach festivals. She has played in the Debut Orchestra, the Utah Symphony, Long Beach Opera, Long Beach, Downey, Pacific and Orange County (principal cello) symphonies, Ballet West, New York City Ballet, Disneyland’s Candlelight Orchestra, The Gary Bonner Singers Orchestra (principal cello), and The Fab Four (Beatles).

Musical theater experience has included playing for the Long Beach Civic Light Opera, the theaters of La Mirada, and San Gabriel and the Laguna Playhouse.

Victoria has performed with a variety of chamber groups, including La Mer Quartet, the Lyric String Quintet, Pacific Strings, the Renaissance Players and a Long Beach Symphony string quartet (part of LBSO’s education program).

She has taught cello for Saddleback College, Vanguard University, Pacific Symphony, Orange County Youth, Long Beach All-District, Pacific Symphony Youth, and Anaheim GATE orchestras, the Youth Center in Los Alamitos and in her studio.

Her most rewarding and challenging experience has been in raising four musical, (now adult) children. Victoria is a second-generation professional musician. Her father, Roger Bacon, performed with various Big Bands across the United States, and, later, with his own band in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area for many years. Currently, he and her mother enjoy attending LBSO concerts.

Tenured in 1995

Cellist Margaret Edmondson has had a long and successful career as a teacher, chamber musician and orchestral player. She was the resident cellist with Southwest Chamber Music for four seasons and during her tenure won a Grammy Award for best small ensemble performance, performed at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, was heard frequently during their 26 weeks of statewide live radio concert broadcasts each season and participated in world premiere performances and recordings of contemporary works by Morton Subotnick, Mel Powell, Charles Wourinen, Stephen Mosko, Wadada Leo Smith, Richard Felciano and Morton Feldman. Maggie has also performed on the chamber series of the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Camerata Pacifica, Sundays Live at LACMA as well as working with the Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale Sinfonia Orchestra. Maggie was a co-founder and founding faculty of Renaissance Arts Academy, a California Public Charter School in North East Los Angeles, chosen as a California Distinguished School in 2009 and winner of the Los Angeles Music Center Bravo Award and CCSA Charter School of the Year in 2010. Her work there from 2003 to 2011 included creating and nurturing the string program that served 200 young string players each year, chairing the Performing Arts Program, teaching cello, advanced theory and conducting, and coaching chamber music. She also conducted the beginning, intermediate and advanced string orchestras and was responsible for programming, arranging and transcribing music for all performances. From 2003-2009 she had the pleasure of co-teaching a cello workshop for beginning to advanced students at the Community School of Music and the Arts with her teacher and mentor, world-renowned cello pedagogue Irene Sharp. Maggie has also had a busy private teaching studio for over 30 years. When not immersed in her musical life she can be found in the garden with her violist husband Dmitri Bovaird.