In 1931, Mrs. Sigmund Stern created the San Francisco Civic Symphony, with the support of Dr. Josephine Randall, who was the first director of the San Francisco Recreation Department. The symphony today is the oldest community orchestra on the West Coast. Since 2002, the symphony has functioned as an all-volunteer orchestra, managed by the members of the orchestra and volunteer supporters.
Just before the turn of the century, when Rebecca Roudman was anundergrad at Cal State Hayward studying music, the cellist loved performing inthe school orchestra, though she was also exploring styles far afield from theclassical canon. Over the next quarter century she did well by her alma mater, now known asCal State University, East Bay, establishing herself as one of the most visibleand versatile crossover cellists in the region.