Cello
Where were you born?
Los Angeles, California.
What college did you attend?
California State University at Long Beach.
What inspired you to start playing music?
My father played trumpet with the Big Bands and later led his own groups in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area. Music was always a part of my life. At the age of six, I started piano lessons.
Why did you choose your principal instrument?
I played piano in my elementary school orchestra and wanted to continue when I left sixth grade, but there were upperclassmen playing in all of the positions. Herbert Burger of Stanford Junior High in Long Beach, asked me to try the bass until I was needed of piano. Instead, I chose the cello because of its sound and smaller size, and loved it instantly!
What other instruments do you play?
Piano.
When did you start playing with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra (what year)?
1967, as a student.
With what other orchestras do you perform?
Pageant of the Masters (Laguna Beach), Orange County Symphony (principal cello), Downey Symphony (assistant principal) and Gary Bonner Singers (principal cello).
Have you performed for any of the following, and if so, who or what?
Film:
Some.
Recordings:
Gary Bonner Singers, Disney, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra and Utah Symphony.
Touring Artists:
Various
Other:
Utah Symphony, Long Beach Opera, Laguna Playhouse and others.
Who is your favorite composer?
I can’t pick just one! My favorites are Bach, Brahms and Mahler.
Why?
Their music touches my ‘heart’ more than music of other composers because of the ways they’ve used melody and harmony, primarily.
What is your favorite orchestral work?
Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.
Why?
It’s spiritual. I’m transported out of this world.
What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while onstage?
Once, while playing in a pit orchestra, my chair leg slipped into a large, hidden crack the pit floor and I began to sink!
What do you enjoy doing besides music (hobbies, etc.)?
I enjoy hiking, gardening, and travel, and want to do computer photo restoration.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Homemade vanilla.
Do you have family, kids, or pets that you’d like to share something about?
My first-born daughter is an R.N. at UCLA who writes songs, and wants to do research and my first-born son has a degree in political science and will probably teach, but loves electronics and playing the bass; my second daughter is a newlywed who is entering her final year at Loyola Law School, while working part-time as a law clerk; my youngest son is a pop singer and hip-hop dancer, who repairs woodwind instruments and is a sophomore at Orange Coast College.
Is there anything unique you’d like our audience to know about you?
I’ve raised four children while playing in the LBSO, the last sixteen years as a single parent.
Email address
mellocellovb@aol.com
