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Gary Schocker (born October 18, 1959) is an American
flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, composer, and pianist who has performed with the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
(at age 15, in a nationally televised Young People's Concert), the
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...
, the New Jersey Symphony, the
Dallas Symphony The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...
, the West German Sinfonia, and I Solisti Italiani. He has toured and taught in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
,
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, Taiwan, Japan,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, France, and Italy.


Composing

He is the most-published living composer of flute music with over 200 works in print. Flutist
James Galway Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". After several years working as an orchestral musician, he established an international career as a solo flute pl ...
premiered his three-movement concerto ''Green Places'' at Ireland's Adair Festival and has also performed this work with the New Jersey Symphony. In 2015, classical guitarist
Jason Vieaux Jason Vieaux (born July 17, 1973, in Buffalo, New York) is an American classical guitarist. He began his musical training in Buffalo, New York at the age of eight, after which he continued his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1992, ...
and harpist
Yolanda Kondonassis Yolanda Kondonassis (born 1963 in Norman, Oklahoma, United States) is an American classical harpist. She is considered one of the world's premier solo harpists and is widely regarded as today's most recorded classical harpist. Kondonassis attend ...
commissioned Schocker's "Hypnotized", a five-movement work for guitar and harp which can be heard on their recording, ''Together''. Schocker has composed
sonatas In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the Music history, history of music, designating a variety of ...
for
piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
,
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
,
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
,
bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
,
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
,
horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...
, and two pianos, as well as works for flute, many songs, theatrical works, and children's musicals. His musicals, written with Barbara Campbell, include ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' and ''The Awakening'', both of which can be heard on Original Cast Recordings. Both shows were winners of the Global Search for New Musicals in the UK and were performed in Cardiff and at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as in New Zealand. In New York, they were winners of the ASCAP music theatre awards. In 2008 he was commissioned to compose the contest piece, titled ''Biwako Wind'', for the Biwako International Flute Competition.


Performing

As a flutist, Schocker has performed often in Japan and Taiwan. In August 2015, he performed his Concerti ''Green Places'' and ''Hannah's Glade'' at the 17th Japan Flute Convention, where he also performed in recital with pianist Fumi Kuwajima, playing works from their album ''Inside Out'' (2015). He performed at the Taiwan International Flute Festival in 2012, also playing three of his works for flute and orchestra. Since 2003, Schocker has taught master classes at Holy Cross Monastery in New York which bring together flutists from all over the world. He is on the faculty at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and teaches privately in New York City and in
Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...
. He performs on flutes made by William S. Haynes and Louis Lot. He also plays on headjoints made by David Williams (the Gary Schocker headjoint) and David Chu.


Awards and honors

He won the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition in 1978, the New York Flute Club's Young Artist Competition in 1980, and the
Young Concert Artists International Auditions Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based artist management company dedicated to discovering and advancing the careers of talented young classical musicians from around the world. The organization, founded in 1961, invites artists to auditio ...
in 1985. Schocker has won the International Clarinet Association's annual composition competition twice and the National Flute Association's annual Newly Published Music Award numerous times.


Discography


Solo

* ''Bach Handel Telemann'' ( Chesky) * ''Mozart Flute Quartets'' (Chesky) * ''Flute Forest'' (2004) * ''Regrets and Resolutions'' (1986) * ''Airborne'' (2000) * ''The Awakening'' and ''Far from the Madding Crowd'' (2000) * ''Healing Music'' (Azica) * ''Garden in Harp'' (Azica, 2012) * ''For Dad'' (Azica) * ''Inside Out'' (
CD Baby CD Baby, Inc. is a Portland, Oregon based online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. It was established in 1998 and offered distribution fo ...
, 2015)


Duet

With
Jason Vieaux Jason Vieaux (born July 17, 1973, in Buffalo, New York) is an American classical guitarist. He began his musical training in Buffalo, New York at the age of eight, after which he continued his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 1992, ...
* ''Arioso'' (2004) * ''Dream Travels'' (2002)


References


External links


Official SiteGary Schocker's page at Theodore Presser Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schocker, Gary 1959 births Living people Chesky Records artists