Nathan Kock
Clarinet
Hailing all the way from Laredo, TX, Nathan Vilhena Kock aspires to serve as a multifaceted musician and educator in various capacities. He is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Houston to complete his DMA in Clarinet Performance, where he will serve as a Cindy Mitchell Scholar in convergence research among various art disciplines. He completed his Masters of Music in clarinet performance at Northwestern University and Bachelors of Music in Clarinet Performance and Music Education at the University of North Texas. Influential teachers include Yevgeny Dokshansky, Steve Cohen, Marc Nuccio, Kimberly Cole Luevano, Deborah Fabian, Stephen Williamson, and Todd Levy.
Notable performances playing as guest principal with Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and Rockford Symphony, as well as performances with New World Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Chicago Sinfonietta, and Elgin Symphony Orchestra. He can be heard performing as a soloist on various streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) in an oratorio titled Terra Nostra by Stacy Garrop. In 2024, he was named a finalist for the Luminarts Classical Fellowship Competition, and was named a recipient for the Stagetime Artist Grant. He also performed as a soloist for the Big Fish Ball—a civic outreach event in tandem with the city of Chicago and CSO for Kids. Additional festival appearances include Chautauqua Music Festival, where he was featured in a live PBS documentary and performance of Wynton Marsalis’s Symphony No. 1, All Rise with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In 2019. Nathan was named a finalist for the International Clarinet Association’s (ICA) Young Artists Competition.
As an educator, Nathan is very passionate about stewardship and pedagogy. He has served as both a part-time music instructor and private clarinet teacher across various public-school districts and private schools in both Illinois and Texas, such as Music Conservatory of Illinois (Evanston, IL), District 219 (Skokie, IL), Fort Worth ISD (Fort Worth, TX), and Denton ISD (Denton, TX). In 2021, his article was published in the Texas Music Educators Association’s monthly magazine issue, Southwestern Musician titled ‘Fostering an Inclusive Music Education Experience for All’. He will also be featured in Clarinet Collisions, a clarinet pedagogy and fundamentals book, written by his mentor and colleague Leslie Grimm. His administrative experience encompasses serving as head Music Librarian for the University of North Texas Wind Studies Department, a representative for the UNT College of Music Advisories Committe, working at the Music Institute of Chicago as an assistant, and serving as a Graduate Assistant for Northwestern’s Clarinet studio.
In his free-time, Nathan loves to travel, do gymnastics, play frisbee, and spend quality time outdoors with his friends and family.
