Orchestra Members

Michael Su, concertmaster, is a law student at the USC Gould School of Law. A graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, he also earned a certificate in Arts Administration and a minor in Instrumental Conducting during his time in Bloomington. Mr. Su was also extensively involved in youth orchestras at the high school level, performing in his high school orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra (2009-2012), and was selected to be in the Missouri All State Orchestra all four years of high school (2009-2012). He studied with Joseph Swensen and Desiree Ruhstrat at IU, and with Heidi Harris and Irena Goren-Scheer in St. Louis.

Timothy Aoki, violin, is a graduate of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. He has been playing the violin since the age of five and has performed in many orchestras including the UCLA Philharmonia and the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. He is also a former member of the tenor sections in the UCLA Chorale and UCLA Men’s Chorale.

Hon. Aviva K. Bobb, violin, is a retired Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, where she was Supervising Judge of the Family Law Courts and then the Probate Courts.  She was previously Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court. She is now engaged in private dispute resolution and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Beverly Hills Bar Foundation, Bet Tzedek Legal Services and Levitt & Quinn.  She began studying the violin at the age of 5, after attending a Yehuda Menuhin concert.

Jessica Bedol

Darren Briggs

Morris Drabinsky

Judy Garf, violin, is a hearing representative who advocates at administrative hearings before the State of California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.  She has played violin and viola since her childhood, having studied with Mehli Mehta  and Louis Kievman.  She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from UCLA.

Tim Hummel, violin. 30 years in the California Bar as sole practitioner as a certified specialist in probate, estate planning and trust law (state bar of California board of legal specialization). Tim is currently concertmaster of the Crown City Symphony Orchestra of Altadena/Pasadena and studies under Dr. Svetlana Oganesian, in La Canada. He is married to Catherine Hummel, violinist. Their three children are professional grade string musicians.

Nina Law

Lisa Mahlum

Nancy C. Smith, violin, a 1981 Yale Law School graduate, has practiced law with the Nossaman firm for her entire career. She is recognized nationally for her work on innovative contracts for transportation infrastructure projects, including the Orange County Toll Roads, the Alameda Corridor, the Expo Line and the Gold Line. She started playing the violin when she was in kindergarten and currently plays with the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles as well as the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic and other groups. She is on the board of Education Through Music-Los Angeles, an organization that provides music education to students in disadvantaged schools.

Lilya Tyomkin, violin, has been playing violin since she was six-years-old, studying at a music school in Ukraine. She played in the Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra since 1980 and the LA Lawyers Philharmonic since 2013. For more than 16 years, she has been working for a law enforcement agency, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Miriam Benor

Kristine Gamboa

Chrystal Green

Denise Kane

For nearly 20 years Marjorie Kulash, violin, served as Director of Legislative Research for The Wyatt Company, a major benefits consulting firm (now Willis Towers Watson) in Washington, DC, where she was responsible for assessing the likely impact of the many proposed changes in retirement and employee benefits law. She has been playing in community orchestras for more than 25 years.

Kathryn March

Caelan Rottman, violin, is a third year student at Pepperdine School of Law, where she is pursuing her JD and Masters degree concurrently. She has been playing the violin since the age of five and has performed in many orchestras and solo competitions. Caelan has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine University and completed Le Grand Diplome at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.

Corey Smith

Sheila Viswanathan

Katie Williams, violin, attorney at Waters, Kraus & Paul; former violinist with The University of Texas at Austin’s University Orchestra.

Roberta Burnette Elliott, Prinicpal Viola, is an attorney in Los Angeles, practices business and employment law, and serves as general counsel to privately held companies. She has played the viola for more than 40 years and has performed with several orchestras and musical groups. She also plays the violin, bass and harp.

Hon. Helen Bendix, viola, is a judge presiding over a civil settlement court for the Los Angeles Superior Court. She is immediate past Chair of the LASC’s ADR Committee and is a member of the Judicial Council’s Civil and Small Claims Committee.  Prior to her judicial appointment in 1997, she was Senior VP and General Counsel of KCET. Judge Bendix has authored several articles and treatises on federal practice and procedure, ADR, and international law, and taught at the UCLA and American University Law Schools. She is also a member of the American Law Institute and the Chancery Club. In addition to being a violist in the Lawyers Philharmonic, she plays violin and viola in the Palisades Symphony Orchestra and is a member of a string quartet.

Terence Geoghegan, viola, is a sole-practitioner civil and probate litigator in Westlake Village.  He received his B.A. in Viola Performance from Cal State Hayward, where he studied with Nathan Rubin and Dennis DeCoteau. He is an alumnus of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Evans, the Ventura County Symphony under Frank Salazar, the UCSB Symphony under Varujan Kojian, the Mouvement Douze opera orchestra in Toulouse, France, and a founding member of the orchestra of the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera. Formerly the principal second violinist of the Santa Barbara City College Symphony, he has been the principal violist there for many years.

Karen Moore

Tuyet Nguyen, viola, labor and employment attorney at Gleason & Favarote LLP. She was a violist with the La Jolla Symphony while earning her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, San Diego.

John Pomeroy, viola, obtained his B.A. and M.A. in Music from the University of Virginia. He then received his J.D. from UCLA Law School. After working as an estate planning attorney, he joined the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in 2005. He is currently assigned to the Appellate Division. He also serves as a governing board member of the Temple City Unified School District.

David Waller, Principal Cello.   After turning down a music scholarship to USC, going on to attend UCLA Law School, where he was elected to membership in the Order of the Coif, and practicing law in Los Angeles for more than 50 years, David made his major life transition back into music in 2009, joining the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic and taking cello lessons again for the first time in more than half a century. At home in Long Beach, he is a Preservationist as well as Chairman of the Long Beach Tree Committee. He considers performing the Faure Elegie with the Lawyers Philharmonic in December of 2015 to be the highlight of his musical career.

Raquelle de la Rocha, is a law, policy and ethics scholar.  She began her legal career as an employment lawyer at O’Melveny & Myers before joining the faculty at UCLA School of Law.  An active policymaker, she served as President of the L.A. Police Commission, President of the L.A. Ethics Commission, Vice Chair of the California Parks Commission.  She also enacted ethics regulations as a Commissioner on California’s Fair Political Practices Commission.  An active community volunteer, Raquelle has served on the Boards of TreePeople, UCLA Law Alumni, and Encino/Tarzana Hospital.  Raquelle has played with the UCLA Chamber Orchestra, the El Camino Community Orchestra and the Brentwood Symphony.  She currently studies with cellist Rachael Lonergan and her instrument was crafted by luthier Eric Benning.

Corina Flores

Andrew Gradman

Cindy Hickox, cello, is a student at UCLA School of Law and has been playing cello since the age of seven; studied French and Peace & Conflict Studies at UC Berkeley and minored in Music; played with the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the Young Peoples Symphony Orchestra.

Juin Daniel Jung, cello, began playing the cello in 6^th grade, playing in the All-Regional Orchestra and the El Paso Youth Symphony. He also won numerous medals competing in University Interscholastic League solo and ensemble competitions. Educationally, he earned his B.S. from UCLA and received a scholarship to attend Western State College of Law, earning his JD in 2006. He also helped to create a non-profit law clinic in 2013, earning a commendation from the County of Los Angeles and Certificate of Recognition from the California Legislature Assembly. Currently, he is a law professor and director of legal studies at Abraham Lincoln University. He also has his own law firm, practicing in family and business law at Anderson & Jung, having over 10 years of legal experience.

Molly Kagel

Katherine Kehr, cello, is an attorney at Selman Breitman whose practice focuses on insurance coverage litigation.  Katherine graduated from USC Law School in 2002 and Bryn Mawr College in 1999.  She has been playing cello since age 10, and previously played with the Main Line Symphony Orchestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Bryn Mawr-Haverford Bi-College Orchestra, and the Orchestra da Camera at the Colburn School of Performing Arts.

Karin Oyadomari, cello, is a corporate attorney.  Ms. Oyadomari graduated from UCSD in 2000 and the USF School of Law in 2003.  Growing up in LA, Ms. Oyadomari played in various youth symphonies and continued to perform throughout college and law school with the UCSD Music Department and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Mei-lan Stark, cello, graduated from Yale Law School.  She is Senior Vice President, Intellectual Property for Fox Entertainment Group.  Mei-lan began playing the cello at age 8.  Growing up in Denver, Colorado, she played in several youth symphonies and was Assistant Principal Cellist with the Young Artists Orchestra of Denver under the baton of David Lockington.  Mei-lan also played with the Civic Orchestra of New Haven.

Jack Lipton, string bass, Partner and Chair of Education Law Group at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP; BA at UCLA; Ph.D. in Psychology at UC Riverside; JD at University of Arizona; adjunct faculty at Southwestern Law School and at Graduate School of Education and Psychology; former member of UCLA Symphony Orchestra, UC Riverside Symphony Orchestra, and Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra.

Louis Fantasia

Robert Hirschman

Morgan Ricketts

Eric Schaefer, double bass, 2nd year student at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Studied under Peter Lloyd and Daxun Zhang, and received his degree in Music Performance from Northwestern University.

Phil Smith

Sheri Guerami, principal flute, is a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office of Raines Feldman, LLP specializing in the Health Care Industry Group. Sheri has been a classical flutist for over 20 years. She began her studies as a flute performance major at UCLA and received a BA in Music Performance and Psychology. While at UCLA, Sheri performed with the UCLA Philharmonic, Symphonic Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Marching Band.

Lisa Norton, flute and piccolo, attended The Eastman School of Music, where she studied with the world-renowned flutist, James Galway; she played in the Tanglewood Symphony. She went on to Harvard Law School and practiced in the area of corporate international tax, then spent ten years in solo practice representing international nonprofit organizations; she wrote the book How To Be A Global Nonprofit: Legal and Practical Guidance for International Activities. Now retired from law practice, she plays and performs with various organizations, and serves on several nonprofit boards.

Erin Prouty

Alyssa Williamson

Lisa Norton, flute and piccolo, attended The Eastman School of Music, where she studied with the world-renowned flutist, James Galway; she played in the Tanglewood Symphony. She went on to Harvard Law School and practiced in the area of corporate international tax, then spent ten years in solo practice representing international nonprofit organizations; she wrote the book How To Be A Global Nonprofit: Legal and Practical Guidance for International Activities. Now retired from law practice, she plays and performs with various organizations, and serves on several nonprofit boards.

Erin Prouty

Miranda Cascione

Hannah Dubina

Christine Field

Shelly Kale, oboe, is publications and strategic projects manager for the California Historical Society. She was photo editor for the Northern District Court’s book, The Court That Tamed the West, published by Heyday Books. Currently she plays with the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic, Beach Cities Symphony and Topanga Symphony.

Kevin Blum

Jay Cooper

Gregory Loos

Adam Feit

Farid E. Ben Amor

Cavit Celayir-Monezis

Mark Markus

Katie Pimentel, alto saxophone, is an entertainment and media technology attorney working in house at AOL. She earned her JD with an Intellectual Property certificate and LLM in Intellectual Property at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Katie is from New Orleans and began playing the saxophone at the age of 9. She has played with numerous international artists over the years on both alto and soprano saxophone. Katie is married to film composer Jose Pimentel.

Matt Stearns

Stephen Farkas, trumpet, is an associate in the Los Angeles Office of K&L Gates, LLP and was recently recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as a Southern California “Rising Star.” Mr. Farkas attend the University of Southern California and Emory University School of Law. Having played the trumpet since he was eight, Mr. Farkas has performed with several orchestras, chamber music and jazz ensembles.

John Gehart

Jack Humes

Steven E. Young, trumpet, is a senior litigation partner at Freeman Freeman & Smiley, LLP in Century City, California. He is AV rated and recognized as a “Superlawyer,” now in his 43^rd year of practice focusing on entertainment, intellectual property licensing, real estate and general business litigation. He started playing the trumpet in the third grade and continued to play for 20 years until the beginning of his legal career. During his active playing days, he was lead trumpet in the Fairfax High Concert Band and often played in the orchestra that provided the music for the major shows held at the Shrine Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles. He also did a number of private performances over those years. He is now “knocking off the rust” after so many years of not playing to be part of the LA Lawyers Philharmonic.

Martin S. Reed

Eric Mills, French horn, began playing piano at age seven and French horn at age 10. He continued with the horn through high school and in college at San Diego State University where he began as a horn performance major, performing with the San Diego Youth Symphony, the Salvation Army, university bands, wind ensemble, orchestra and various chamber and small ensembles. Eric is a member of the California State Bar and received a JD from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and an LLM in tax from the University of San Diego. He has worked for Pacific Life Insurance Company in Newport Beach since 1989 and is currently a Vice President in the Life Insurance Division.

Barry Goldberg

Robert Hirschman

Marc Sallus, baritone trombone, trust and estate litigator, partner at Oldman, Cooley, Sallus, Gold, Birnberg & Coleman, LLP; former president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

Michael Margulies, tuba, is a member of the Israel Bar. He received a law degree from Tel Aviv University and holds Master and Bachelor degrees in Music Performance (Tuba) from USC.

Hon. George F. Bird, Jr., percussion, graduated from Loyola Law school, Los Angeles. He practiced criminal law for nearly 30 years as a State Bar Certified Criminal Law Specialist and was certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Criminal Trial Attorney before being appointed as a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Having successfully survived three years of high school marching band, Judge Bird went on to play with the Navy drum and bugle corps in San Diego while serving as an Aviation Anti-Submarine Warfare Operator.  He currently plays with the Palos Verdes Symphonic Band and is a charter member of the LA Lawyers Philharmonic.

Otis Hayes III, percussion, has been a professional drummer and percussionist for over 30 years. He has worked with many recording artists including The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, Chuck Berry, Nell Carter, James Brown, Ice-T, Johnny Rotten, Cindy Lauper and Les McCann. You can hear his self-titled Jazz CD on radio stations worldwide. Otis attended The University of North Texas and California State University Northridge where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Industry Studies. After many years as a performer, Otis moved to the legal side of the industry. He became a member of the California State Bar in 2015. His law practice focuses on entertainment law, consumer law, civil litigation, criminal law and bankruptcy.

Jerry Levine

Hon. Hon. Stuart Waxman, percussion, is an administrative law judge, retired from the State of California Office of Administrative Hearings. Stuart played his first musical notes at the age of three, and played his first professional job at 14. He is a Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra alumnus. Stuart also played in a 12-piece rock band at Disneyland and toured with The Sandpipers. He has worked in Las Vegas with many artists including Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Elvis Presley, Sammy Davis, Jr., Debbie Reynolds, Juliet Prowse and Wayne Newton.

Lori Gordon