Claude Albanese, winds

Claude Albanese taught instrumental music in the public schools of Southern California for thirty-eight years.  He now accepts a limited number of private music students, school aged and adult, that wish to pursue advanced study of musical performance.  For the San Luis Obispo Symphony Association, he coaches the Symphonic Winds. Yearly, for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, he judges and holds clinics for at least sixty school bands and orchestras. Claude and his wife of forty-four years, Rhoda, live in Cambria, close to other members of their family on the Central Coast.

Linda Ashworth, Oboe

Linda began her musical playing piano and clarinet, adding oboe to her musical passions in the early 80s. While studying oboe with Brenda Schumann-Post, she played with a variety of groups in the SF Bay Area. Chamber music became a passion with the formation of the Vineyard Quintet in 1985. After moving to the Central Coast in 2002, Linda joined the oboe section of the SLO Symphony in the fall of that year, playing English Horn as well as oboe. She also plays with the SummerWinds Quintet, Cuesta Master Chorale, Pacific Repertory Opera, and teaches oboe privately. When not playing music, she teaches genetics part-time at Cal Poly.

Randall H. Garacci, Violin

Randy began his violin studies in the music program at the elementary school he attended in Los Angeles. He continued his studies with the late Manuel Compinsky. He came to San Luis Obispo in 1975 to attend Cal Poly, where he performed with various ensembles in the music department. Randy has been a member of the San Luis Obispo Symphony for over 30 years, currently serving as Principal Violin II.  Randy is also a founding member of the Tolosa Strings Ensemble.  When not performing or teaching violin in his private studio or through the Symphony's Strings in the Schools program, Randy does computer software development and consulting.

Ken Hustad, Bass

Ken Hustad shares his position of Principal bass in the San Luis Obispo Symphony with Lara Lehmer.  He is also a member of the Mozart Festival Orcehstra and plays with the Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Symphonies, the Cuesta Master Chorale, Pacific Repertory Opera, the SLO Vocal Arts Ensemble, the Cal Poly Baroque Orchestra and the Tolosa Strings Quintet.  In addition to serving as a string coach with the Youth Symphony, he is a bass instructor at both Cuesta College and Cal Poly and plays in several Central Coast jazz groups.

Marshall Granger, Percussion

Marshall Granger received his percussion instruction from San Francisco Bay area percussionist Martha Spore. He serves as Principal Percussionist with the Berkeley Opera and has played with the North Bay Opera, San Francisco Concerto Orchestra, Pacific Coast Chamber Orchestra, Marin Music Festival Orchestra, Tahoe Music Festival Orchestra and the North Tahoe Symphony. He has performed locally with the Coastal Valley Symphony, Cuesta Master Chorale and the Pacific Repertory Opera. Prior to taking up percussion, Marshall spent 20 years as a trumpet player. He studied with Joseph Alessi, Sr. and performed in a number of San Francisco Bay area ensembles including the Marin Civic Light Opera, Sonoma City Opera and the Hayward Symphony. Marshall has been a member of the San Luis Obispo Symphony since 1990. Marshall is also active in SLO Symphony Music Education. For the past two years, he has been part of the faculty for the Symphony Music Camp: OnStage at the PAC.

Kaoru Miyanouchi, Violin

Kaoru was born in Kagoshima, Japan. At an early age, she started playing Piano with her mother and at the age of 9, she started violin studies. By the age of 13, she won the South Japan Music Competition, which lead her to study in Tokyo. Kaoru was introduced to Professor Takashi Shimizu at Tokyo Geijyutu Daigaku (aka. Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music), and continued her study with him in Violin Solo Performance Course at Showa University of Music. Kaoru’s other teachers include Kousaku Yamaoka, Hirotaka Muroya, Izumi Ishii, Kazuyuki Sakoda, and Kazue Takahashi for Solfège and Piano, and Hirofumi Kanno for Chamber music. While in Tokyo, Kaoru played in numerous orchestras. She moved to USA, settled in beautiful San Luis Obispo and currently plays with San Luis Obispo Symphony and other local musical groups.  Kaoru is also affiliated with one of the most respected violinists of all time, Ms. Ida Haendel, and acts as her representative.

Ginette Reitz

Bio coming soon...

Jane Swanson, Assistant Conductor for the Concert Orchestra & Brass Coach

Jane Swanson has studied French horn with Ralph Pyle, Fred Fox, Wendell Hoss, Sinclair Lott and James Decker in Southern California, and with Phillip Yaeger in Austin, Texas.  She also received extensive coaching in chamber music from Mitchell Lurie, both at the Music Academy of the West and at UCLA. She attended Pomona College and the University of Texas in Austin, completing a degree in music performance from UCLA. She was a winner of the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in 1966. A resident of San Luis Obispo for 38 years, Jane has long been active as a performer with the San Luis Obispo Symphony, the SLO Mozart Festival Orchestra, Cuesta Master Chorale, and Pacific Repertory Opera.

Tanya Streder, Violin

Tanya grew up in San Jose, where she started playing the violin at age three. Her teachers included Al Gillis and Lauren Jakey, and she studied at San Jose State University and Biola University. Tanya plays in the San Luis Obispo Symphony and in several other performing groups.

Rosslyn Thorp-Clauson, Cello

Rosslyn Thorp-Clauson was a student of Margaret Rowell for 9 years, as well as Theodore Salzman, Laszlo Varga, and Colin Hampton. She was the recipient of the Congress of Strings scholarship in 1965 at Michigan State University. She graduated in 1969 from San Francisco State University with a major in cello performance. While residing in Southern California (1980-1985), she performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Pops, Fox Theatre pit orchestra (Evita, Oklahoma, The King and I), New York Dancers of Harlem, Sesame Street and Company, Palm Springs Symphony and several college orchestras. While residing in Mt. Shasta, Ca. (1985-1994) she performed regularly with the Redding Symphony and Chico Symphony, and taught for the Mt. Shasta Unified School District where she started a string program. She was a member of the Ganarson piano trio which gave recitals regularly. She has been the featured soloist for the San Leandro Symphony, Shasta Symphony and Redding Symphony orchestras. Currently, Rosslyn teaches music full-time  for San Luis Coastal Unified School District, coaches the youth symphony cello/bass sections, and performs as a member of the San Luis Obispo Symphony Orchestra.