Thomas Stacy ::: Long Bio

Grammy Nominee, Thomas Stacy has been hailed as “the Heifetz of the English horn” by The New York Times, and was called “a poet among craftsmen” by Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Stacy has appeared as guest soloist with major orchestras including the National Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Louisville Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Spokane Symphony, and the Oregon Symphony. Additionally he has appeared as soloist more than 70 times with the New York Philharmonic, from which he recently retired. In 1977, Mr. Stacy performed the first oboe d’amore concerto in the New York Philharmonic’s history, with Pierre Boulez conducting. His final solo performance with the Orchestra was in the 08-09 Season, performing a Telemann oboe d'amore concerto, Lorin Maazel conducting.

Mr. Stacy’s other recent appearances with the Orchestra include the American premiere of James MacMillan’s The World’s Ransoming, with Sir Colin Davis conducting, and Copland’s Quiet City, with Marin Alsop conducting. His guest appearances abroad have included solo performances with Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, La Sinfonica Municipal in Caracas, recitals in England, and a broadcast recital on Swedish radio. He has also given recitals in New York (thought to be the city’s first English horn recital), Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Salt Lake City (in that city’s Tabernacle), as well as on performance series throughout the U.S.—often performing on oboe, oboe d’amore, and English horn.

Mr. Stacy has been profiled on CBS Sunday Morning, where he was compared to Segovia and Rampal as a pioneer soloist, as well as on NPR’s All Things Considered. He also was interviewed and has performed three times on CBS This Morning. An estimated 5.4 million viewers have seen his solo performances with the New York Philharmonic on Live From Lincoln Center telecasts..

He has given the world premieres of more than 30 new works. Among the composers who have written works specifically for him are Gunther Schuller (on commission from the National Endowment for the Arts), Vincent Persichetti, Sydney Hodkinson, Kenneth Fuchs, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Bernard Hoffer, Calvin Hampton, Gardner Read, Samuel Adler, and Peteris Vasks. In January 1994, Mr. Stacy was soloist in the world premiere of Ned Rorem’s English Horn Concerto, a work created especially for him as one of the New York Philharmonic’s 150th Anniversary Commissions. The following summer Mr. Stacy was soloist in performances of the Rorem concerto conducted by Kurt Masur on the Philharmonic’s Asian Tour. He also performed this concerto with the same forces during the Philharmonic’s 1996 European Festivals Tour, in Dublin, Lucerne, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, and at the London Proms. In November 2000, Mr. Stacy premiered a new work written for him by John Wyre for English horn and gamelan, in Toronto; the concert was broadcast by the CBC. As a best-selling crossover recording artist, Mr. Stacy has shown his musical versatility by combining the sensuous sound of the English horn with synthesizers, guitars, and percussion on two CDs from London’s nu-view label.

He has presented master classes at schools across the nation as well as at London’s Royal Academy of Music, the conservatories of Moscow and St. Petersburg, in South America, Japan, Korea, Germany, and at a week-long seminar in Stockholm for Scandinavian English hornists. In July, 2015, he will teach at the exciting, new ReedX2 in Huntington, WV.

The most recorded English hornist in the world, Mr. Stacy received a Grammy nomination in 2005 (Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra) for his recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, of EVENTIDE- Concerto for English Horn, written for him by Kenneth Fuchs,on the Naxos Label. Stacy has recorded on the CBS Masterworks, London, Spectrum, Deutsche Grammophon, Catalyst, Grenadilla, Phoenix, Albany, and CRI labels. His most recent CD releases are titled Thomas Stacy/Three Concerti available from New World Records; New York Legends, available from Cala Records; and Plaintive Melody released in July 2003 on the Delos label. More recently Tom made the Billboard charts with the Naxos release, Oboe d'Amore Concertos, featuring the Toronto Chamber Orchestra .

Mr. Stacy grew up in Augusta, Arkansas—population 3,000. While in junior high school, he sold his motorcycle in order to buy his first English horn. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music With Distinction, and received the George Eastman Scholarship, presented by the faculty for distinguished achievement in all areas of study.