Flute God: David Buck

In the last week or so I've had two opportunities to hear David Buck, the new principal flutist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic play (I attended a free concert in Cerritos last Wednesday, and another free concert at Walt Disney Hall - oriented toward children but I enjoyed it too, on Saturday). The LA Phil website doesn't have a link to Mr. Buck's bio yet, but here's something I found on an Oregon newspaper from 2006 when he was appointed as principal flutist of the Oregon Symphony.

THE FLUTE GOD: Although principal flutist David Buck is only 24 years old, he has indeed been described as a "flute god" by those who heard him during the auditions. Buck has only to give his final recital to graduate from Juilliard, and he figures he'll do that next spring. "I've played in orchestras for Carlos twice," remarks Buck, "once when he came to Juilliard and another time with the New World Symphony. I like his energy and the excitement he brings to music. It was a lot of fun." And speaking of fun, Buck says: "I'm in a film coming out this fall with Robert De Niro called The Good Shepherd. You can find me playing flute dressed in drag alongside Matt Damon."

Also, here's his bio from the Oregon Symphony's website:

David Buck was appointed principal flute of the Oregon Symphony in 2005 by music director Carlos Kalmar. The Oregonian has praised him for his “supple tone, rhythmic dynamism, and technical agility.” David is a recent graduate of The Juilliard School, where he earned a Bachelor of Music and a Graduate Diploma. He took a hiatus from his studies at Juilliard after his sophomore year to serve as Associate Principal flutist with the Honolulu Symphony. He has also had the opportunity to appear as a guest principal with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, David has been a member of the New Juilliard Ensemble, the Axiom Ensemble, and the Julliard Woodwind Quintet. He has participated in several summer festivals, including Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival del Due Monde, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, and the Pacific Music Festival. A native of Philadelphia, David’s primary teachers have been New York Philharmonic principal flutist Robert Langevin, and Jeffrey Khaner and David Cramer of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In his spare time David enjoys reading and drinking coffee.

And here's an article with a little bit of him talking about auditioning for Gustavo Dudamel.

Mr. Buck studied with Robert Langevin (principal flutist for the New York Philharmonic), who I also had the opportunity to hear recently. Another amazing player. I'm feeling inspired. I need some more flute playing!