Just before the turn of the century, when Rebecca Roudman was an undergrad at Cal State Hayward studying music, the cellist loved performing in the school orchestra, though she was also exploring styles far afield from the classical canon.

Over the next quarter century she did well by her alma mater, now known as Cal State University, East Bay, establishing herself as one of the most visible and versatile crossover cellists in the region. Roudman is best known as the frontwoman for Dirty Cello, a hard-working band that has honed a rollicking repertoire of rock anthems, bluegrass standards and Americana originals. Always looking to expand her creative purview, Roudman decided to return to CSUEB to pursue a master’s degree in jazz in 2021, and was dismayed to discover “there was no orchestr

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