Jon Deak

Jon Deak (born April 27, 1943) is an American composer, contrabassist and education specialist. He is a former Associate Principal Bassist of the New York Philharmonic, a position he held from 1973-2009 after joining the Philharmonic in 1969 under Leonard Bernstein, and a prominent contemporary composer of orchestral and chamber works. He currently serves as the Young Composers Advocate of the New York Philharmonic, where he founded the award-winning Very Young Composers Program in 1995.

Jon Deak was born in Hammond, Indiana and grew up in an artistic environment. His father and mother were sculptors and painters from Eastern Europe; he himself has worked in sculpture and was active in the "performance art" movement in New York's Soho district. He attended Oberlin College, The Juilliard School, the University of Illinois, and the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome as a Fulbright scholar.

Deak's compositions have been performed at music festivals worldwide and by orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic and major chamber groups around the country. His Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra (Jack and the Beanstalk) was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize by the National Symphony. His compositions have been recorded by Centaur, CRI, Innova, and Cabrillo records.

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