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.

Company Manager and professional flutist Teri Christian’s first experience with LBO was playing in the orchestra for Boris Gudonov in 1994.  In all, Teri has played in 40 LBO productions. Her first experience on the production side was as Supertitles Operator for The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat in 2012.  Over 20 years experience scheduling and managing her large flute studio as Adjunct Professor of Flute prepared her well for her current role as LBO Company Manager, assumed in 2016.

Bronson Foster (he/him) is a researcher, strategist, and leader aiming to brighten the world through an interdisciplinarian’s lens of arts and culture. In 2021, he joined the team at the Long Beach Opera where he is Head of Experience & Partnerships. In this role, he oversees the experience design ecosystem for the organization while developing key partnerships with LBO’s communities. Previously, Bronson has worked with organizations such as the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, Live Music Project, and Boulanger Initiative. He serves on the leadership council for Emerging Arts Leaders/Los Angeles and has served as a member of various professional organization’s committees such as the Association of Arts Administration Educators. In conjunction with arts and culture leadership, his creative work is expressed as a musician while 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) where he earned 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 finds home in the wonderful State of California.

(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). 

Alexander Gedeon is a stage director, songwriter and performer working primarily in the field of contemporary opera, born and based in Los Angeles. His creative work has spanned the divide from pop to classical, and has been called "provocative, visually stunning" and "a perfect, experimental approach to opera" (San Diego UT, Times SD). 

Prior to committing to opera, Alexander created Trick & the Heartstrings, a New York punk-funk trio, for which he composed music and created a live show the London NME called "a supertight howl of righteous rhythm and blues with jaw-dropping pop twists." His subsequent music project, Yellow Alex — a six piece choreographed disco ensemble — garnered years' worth of radio airplay on LA's KCRW, and placements on ABC-TV and the iTunes Worldwide playlist. After pivoting to opera, Alexander AD'd the David Lang premiere of anatomy theater (LA Opera) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning premiere of Anthony Davis's Central Park Five (Long Beach Opera). He made his directorial debut with La tragédie de Carmen at San Diego Opera in 2017, and served as associate director for John Cage’s Europeras 1 & 2 (LA Phil), directed by Yuval Sharon. Recent credits also include directing and pantomiming in Concerto for Having Fun with Elvis on Stage at (REDCAT). 

Alexander is Long Beach Opera's newly appointed Minister of Culture, where he currently develops projects for forthcoming seasons, as well as the video podcast Towards a New Opera!  He is also the co-creator and director of Sanctuaries, a chamber opera about gentrification and the erasure of the Black community in Portland, Oregon — premiering in September 2021 (MAP Fund winner). Alexander is excited to continue his collaboration with Sharon this year, associate-directing and pantomiming in Comet/Poppea, featuring Anthony Roth Costanzo and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; as well as assisting on the acclaimed parking garage production Twilight: Gods (Chicago Lyric Opera). Alexander is a graduate of NYU's Experimental Theater Wing, and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Elijah is a young performer, teacher, and arts administrator in Southern California. He is currently completing his Bachelors of Music in Opera Performance at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Elijah is a Student Teacher with the Music Teachers Association of California, teaches singing at SBG Studios, and serves on the advisory board of the Compton Conservatory of Music.