Staff

Eric Bridges is an alum of California State University, Fullerton, graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Directing. Directly following graduation he worked as a professional stage manager, starting in Special Events with his Alma Mater – Cheers to Joe! And Concert Under the Stars. He has been a professional stage manager in Los Angeles and Orange Counties for 5 years, working mainly with non-profit companies. He joined LBO in 2017 as Assistant Stage Manager for The Fairy Queen and has worked consistently with the company, recently as Stage Manager for the popular Love Potion.

Bronson Foster is a strategist and leader who believes that our shared creative and cultural expressions demonstrate the best of what we can achieve. His work focuses on increasing capacity, innovating systems, creating space, utilizing data and research, empowering people, and fostering future thinking for arts and cultural organizations. Bronson is on the team at Long Beach Opera where he is Director of Strategy & Communications. In this role, he oversees strategic initiatives that bolster the organization’s impact as well as the experience design network for LBO. He also serves as a mentor in the Protégé Program at Arts for LA. Previously, Bronson has worked with the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, Boulanger Initiative, and Live Music Project. He has served on the leadership council for Emerging Arts Leaders/Los Angeles and various professional organizations’ committees, such as the Association of Arts Administration Educators.

In conjunction with arts and culture leadership, his creative work is expressed as a musician specializing in contemporary works where he can be found on stage crafting sounds. Bronson completed his graduate studies at the University of Southern California (USC) earning a Master of Science degree. His thesis, “Interdisciplinarity and Innovation: An Interconnected Future for the Arts,” examines the complexities of creative ecosystems and proposes building engagement in broader spaces that strengthen cultural communities. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Bronson currently finds home in the vibrant Los Angeles region.

(Photo Credit: Colby K. Neal)

Nicolás Bejarano joined the team at Long Beach Opera in 2021 as a Development Associate. He is a Colombian contemporary and new-music specialist and advocate currently based in Los Angeles. He has worked as a trumpet player with innovative LA groups including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the experimental opera company The Industry, the Los Angeles Chorale Lab and the American Youth Symphony; and has worked on projects for composers LaMonte Young, Kris Bowers, Ellen Reid, Nina Young, David Rosenboom, Nico Muhly, and Frederic Rzewsky to name a few.  

Bejarano has presented masterclasses and been a guest lecturer at the University of California San Diego, National University of Colombia, and Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. Bejarano holds a BMUS from McGill University's Schulich School of Music and an MFA from the Herb Alpert School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).