Thanks to Dr. Peter Landecker, the Beach Cities Symphony has been part of cyberspace since December 1998. That's when Landecker, a violinist with the orchestra for the past twenty-five years, launched our web page, which you can view at http://geocities.datacellar.net/beachcitiessymphony or http://www.netword.com/*bcso. Information, which is regularly updated, includes our current program, upcoming concerts, the history of the Beach Cities Symphony, a biography of Music Director Barry Brisk, newsletter articles, a map of the concert venue, a roster of orchestra members, advertisers and corporate sponsors, fundraising activities, and, in the near future, a list of Beach Cities Symphony Association members.

Peter Landecker is representative of the multi-faceted musicians who often gravitate to community orchestras. Born in New York City, he graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, earned a B. A. in physics from Columbia College, and received his Ph. D. in experimental physics from Cornell University. As his dissertation project he designed and operated an observatory to detect the highest-energy cosmic rays. He later worked at the bottom of the deepest mine in the world (in South Africa) detecting neutrinos. He later designed and analyzed data from many solar and stellar astrophysics satellite instruments. Currently he is a member of the American Physical Society and a Senior Staff Scientist at TRW in Redondo Beach, where he specializes in physics instruments that fly on satellites. His other professional accomplishments include authoring 76 publications in professional journals, and patenting several devices relating to spacecraft orientation and navigation and to cameras.

Peter enjoys a variety of pastimes. He is a member of the International Astronomical Union and has been giving astronomical workshops at Camp deBenneville Pines in the San Bernardino Mountains for the past twenty years. An avid land-based and underwater photographer, he is also an active scuba diver who has logged over 1,100 dives in 26 countries. He also likes travel to interesting places that do not include diving options. Closer to home, he raises desert tortoises in his back yard.

Not surprisingly, Peter describes music as a delightful balance to his scientific activities. While he wishes our concerts included more music from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, he nevertheless rises to the challenge of performing a spectrum of orchestral selections. He began playing the violin at age nine and has played in string quartets as well as in symphony ensembles. At one time he also studied piano; his mother, who was his teacher, still teaches music privately and at Saddleback College.

Peter welcomes feedback and suggestions for the Beach Cities Symphony web page at bcsa@geocities.com or landecker@cyberdude.com. He also welcomes relevant e-mail articles that he can post to the web site. He especially encourages accessing Amazon.com through www.netword.com/bcso, since 5% of any purchases made at that time will be donated to our organization.