Cello Handbook -- Phyllis Luckman Biography

Phyllis Luckman lives in Oakland, California. She was a cellist with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra from 1981 to 1999, a member of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa, Mexico, the Oakland Symphony, the Bay Area Women's Philharmonic, and other regional orchestras. Ms. Luckman was a private cello teacher for 35 years, and a teacher of numerous group classes in music theory, history, musicianship and cello technique. She is a member of the California Cello Club and the American String Teacher's Association. She is also a composer of works for chamber ensemble, including a Symphony for Massed Cellos (1977) and a string quartet. Ms. Luckman, a graduate of the High School of Music and Art in New York, received a B.A. in English from Hunter College, and an M.A. in Music Composition from Mills College in Oakland, California. Her cello teachers have included Willem Durieux, Margaret Rowell, Colin Hampton, Bonnie Hampton and Michael Grebanier.