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 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, teaching in his private studio and the Symphony's Strings in the Schools program, or leading the SuperBows ensemble, he does computer software development.

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.

Jean Schaffner

Jean Schaffner teaches violin and viola privately and for the Symphony's Strings in the Schools program. Groups she performs with include Symphony of the Vines, the Santa Maria Philharmonic, Monarch Strings (a quartet comprised of Youth Symphony coaches and conductors), and Strummingbirds (a band that plays vintage classics and contemporary folk rock.) Jean grew up in Arroyo Grande playing in the San Luis Obispo Youth Symphony, over time becoming the principal violist and winning the Concerto Competition. She completed high school at Interlochen Arts Academy and then pursued a Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from the University of Colorado. Upon graduating she lived in Germany for two years, taking private lessons and performing with local orchestras, including the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra. She attended Portland State University, completing an MA in Music with a focus in pedagogy in 2011. As a graduate assistant, she played in and helped manage the ensembles under conductor Ken Selden. While in Oregon, she performed with the Colombia Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, and the Newport Symphony. [See www.stringjean.com.]

Ginette Reitz, violin

Violinist Ginette Reitz is a founding member of the Larkspur String Quartet & Trio and performs regularly with the San Luis Obispo Symphony, the Cuesta Master Chorale and OperaSLO. In addition to her coaching work with the Youth Symphony, Ginette teaches in the Symphony’s Strings in the Schools program, coaches chamber music and offers private lessons in violin and viola. She is a member of the Symphony’s Cuarteto de las Misiones, performing educational programs in local schools, and in 2001, traveled to Washington, DC to perform their program of early Mission music at the Kennedy Center. Later that year, she performed with the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Choir on a recording of a new work by Kyzysztof Pederecki called Credo. That CD later won a Grammy Award for best choral performance and an Indie award for best orchestral performance on an independent label.  As a free lance violinist, Ginette has performed with a range of performers including Luciano Pavorotti, Bobby McFerrin, Jimmy Stewart, Garrison Keillor, the Association, and the Michael Morris Dance Troupe.

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.