Dean Shostak is an American crystallophone-player and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist. He regularly performs his Crystal Concerts which consist of music played on his glass instruments, such as the glass violin, the

glass armonica The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica (derived from , ''harmonia'', the Greek language, Greek word for harmony), is a type of musical instr ...

, and the crystal handbells.

Personal life

Shostak began performing at age 14 in

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

in the Music Teacher's Shop. He earned a B.A. in Music from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and learned to play the pocket or

kit violin The pochette is a small stringed instrument of the bowed variety. It is a small violin-like instrument designed to fit in a pocket, hence the name "pochette" (French for ''small pocket''). Also known as a pocket fiddle, it was designed to be use ...

and the

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

. In 1991 he became involved in the revival of the glass armonica. He has performed throughout the United States and his music has been featured in notable programs such as

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'',

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' Good Morning Television'', and ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001. It was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. Its original incarnation, the se ...

''. He has also written original scores for films for the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, City of Chattanooga, State of Tennessee, and the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Shostak currently lives in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

with his wife Valerie, and they have two daughters, and one son.

Discography

* ''Crystal Carols'' (1994) * ''Crystal Christmas'' (1995) * ''Celtic Crystal'' (1997) * ''Colonial Fair'' (1999) * ''Davy Crockett's Fiddle'' (2002) * ''18th Century Mother Goose Songs'' (2002) * ''The Glass Armonica'' (2004) * ''Crystal Christmas'' (2005) * ''World of Glass'' (2008) * ''Crystal Carols 1 and 2'' (2010)

Instruments

Glass armonica The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica (derived from , ''harmonia'', the Greek language, Greek word for harmony), is a type of musical instr ...

: Shostak is one of only eight glass armonica players in the world. * Glass

: Shostak owns one of only two glass violins in the world-the other belongs to

Ikuko Kawai is a classically trained Japanese violinist and composer. Early life and education Among Kawai's favorite childhood memories are going to the cinema with her father Kiyoshi; she was captivated by film's soundtracks. She took music lessons in Mar ...

. The violin was created for him by the Hario Corporation. * Cristal Baschet: Shostak plays one of only two cristal baschets in the United States. * Crystal Handbells: Shostak worked with Malmark Handbell Company in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, which provided the handles and clappers for the bells, and also with Thomas Hession, who created the glass bells, to create the first glass English handbells. * Glass Bowed

Psaltery :''See Rotte (psaltery) for medieval harp psaltery & Ancient Greek harps for earlier psalterion'' A psaltery () (or sawtry, an archaic form) is a fretboard-less box zither (a simple chordophone) and is considered the archetype of the zither and ...

: Jim Doble created the instrument at Shostak's request. * Grand Harmonicon ( Glass harp): Shostak acquired this instrument at an auction; it has survived since the 1820s.

References

External links

Dean Shostak's Bio Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shostak, Dean Living people American multi-instrumentalists American male violinists American folk musicians Glass harmonica players Year of birth missing (living people)