Cello
Susan Debronsky, principal cello
Susan Debronsky has been principal cellist of the Albany Symphony for 38 years.
A native of Yonkers, NY, Susan received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University before moving to Albany. In addition to the Albany Symphony, Susan is a member of the Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra (Cooperstown, NY) and The Venice (FL) Symphony. Susan currently resides on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where she also regularly performs with The Florida Orchestra in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
Hikaru tamaki, assistant principal
Hikaru Tamaki concertizes regularly as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player in the US and Japan. He served as the principal cellist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and was a member of the Freimann String Quartet from 2001 until 2013. Solo performances with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic have included numerous major concertos in the cello repertoire. Tamaki was a prizewinner in the prestigious All Japan Viva Hall Cello Competition in 2000. In 2008, he released his first solo album, which includes the works of J.S. Bach and Toshiro Mayuzumi. From 2016, he has served as the principal cellist of the Berkshire Opera Festival and is also a member of the Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. Born in Kyoto, Tamaki’s studies in Japan were with Noboru Kamimura and Peter Seidenberg. Studies in the United States began at the Eastman School of Music, where he was named a George Eastman Scholar, and continued at Rice University and Northwestern University for his graduate degree. His teachers were Paul Katz and Hans Jorgen Jensen. In 2008, he began collaborations with Japanese koto and shamisen player, Yoko Reikano Kimura. Under the moniker Duo YUMENO, they have been actively presenting their cross-cultural programs throughout the US and Japan as well as the UK, Turkey, Trinidad and Colombia. The duo was awarded the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program grant in 2014, and in the following year, received the Aoyama Baroque Saal Award. In 2024, they are scheduled to release Heike Quinto, a suite of duo pieces commissioned to composer Daron Hagen, from the Naxos label.
Li Pang
Li Pang, a Shanghai-born cellist who began studying the cello at age seven. She received a Jephson Educational Trust Scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of Music, where she completed her BM and MM degrees. As an orchestra musician, Pang holds a section cello position in the Albany Symphony and has also served as a substitute for the Shanghai Philharmonic and Shanghai Opera House. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at Rutgers University, studying with Jonathan Spitz.
kevin bellosa
Kevin Bellosa grew up in New Hartford, New York. He fell in love with the cello when he heard a neighbor play it in her home. Kevin began his studies of the cello in the public school. He attended college in Kentucky and attended the Eastman School of Music as a graduate student. He taught public school orchestral music for thirty-four years, and still maintains connections with countless students who love music and were influenced by his classes.
Kevin joined the Albany Symphony in 1981 and today he serves on the ASO orchestra committee. He is married to Carla Bellosa, a violist in the ASO. They have three children and ten grandchildren!
Anyone who knows Kevin is aware that he LOVES the American Motors Corporation. He has collected several Rambler and AMC cars and drives them regularly in good weather. Kevin can also tell you the history of the AMC company and ANY detail about the cars that you might want to hear!
Catherine hackert
Cellist Catherine Hackert is a native of East Northport. Long Island, NY and currently lives in Ballston Spa NY. She was an Orchestra teacher in the Glens Falls City Schools for 33 years and still maintains an active private studio. Cathy has been a member of the Albany Symphony Orchestra since 1983.She is a past member and former Chair of the Albany Symphony Orchestra Committee. Cathy continues to represent the Musicians at ASO Board meetings and committees. In her career, she has been Principal cellist with the orchestras of both Glens Falls and Schenectady and continues as a substitute member of the these groups and also with the Venice Symphony in Venice, Florida. Cathy is a cellist with the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus & Orchestra (Florida)since 2016 and currently is a member of it’s Board of Directors as Vice President. Her teachers have included Ruth Alsop and Claus Adam. She received her B.Mus Ed and Performer's Certificate from the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam and in 1982, attended the Aspen Music Festival. Cathy enjoys traveling, especially with Varna International on their summer European concert tours. In addition to her cellist duties, Cathy is a member of the Ballston Spa Committee on the Arts.
Catherine was inspired to play the cello by watching Charlotte Nevins of the Lawrence Welk Show on TV when she was a little girl and then attending one of Leonard Bernstein 's Young People's Concerts at Lincoln Center in New York City, where the introduction to the "William Tell Overture" sealed the deal!
Among her other interests are gardening, Tudor history and the Dave Matthews Band.