Jeffery Zook

Jeffery Zook has been a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra flute section since 1992. His formal musical studies began at the Interlochen Arts Academy and continued at the University of Michigan. With additional studies in England, Zook attended the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and received the coveted Recitalists’ Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music in London. His primary teachers have included William Bennett, Trevor Wye, Judith Bentley, Jacqueline Hofto, and former DSO piccoloist Clement Barone.

A prizewinner in many competitions including the National Flute Association Young Artists Competition and William Byrd National Concerto Competition in Flint, Michigan, Zook has also been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Zook made his solo debut with the DSO as a senior in high school, performing Mozart’s Concerto in C for Flute and Harp with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis at Ford Auditorium in 1982. Twenty years later, he took the stage again in Orchestra Hall with Maestro Neeme Järvi performing the Vivaldi Piccolo Concerto. He appeared as a featured soloist at the National Flute Association convention in Minneapolis in 2017. From 2001 to 2007, Zook co-hosted a chamber music festival, “Concerts in the Barn at Applewood,” at his Ontario farm home in Dyer’s Bay along with DSO violist Caroline Coade and harpist Kerstin Allvin. In 2002, this group traveled and performed throughout Morocco and was featured on the nation’s television network.

As a recording artist, Zook has recorded extensively for the Music Minus One label and is featured with fellow DSO flutist Sharon Sparrow on the popular band method book: Do It! Play in Band. In 2002, he teamed up with harpist Kerstin Allvin to produce Comfort and Joy! A Musical Celebration of Holiday Music for Flute and Harp. He is also featured on many revival Motown recordings produced in the past decade.

Highly in demand as a teacher, Zook has taught at the University of Michigan and is currently on the faculty of Oakland University. In 2018, he served as Visiting Professor at Western Michigan University. He is a former Chair of the Piccolo Committee for the National Flute Association and is a past President of the Southeast Michigan Flute Association.

Zook lives in Pleasant Ridge with his partner David Assemany and miniature pinscher Dexter. They have named their renovated Dutch Colonial home “The Cambridge Conservatory,” a venue which hosts recitals, workshops, musical feasts, and fundraisers.

Zook plays on a 14K Haynes flute and a Burkart piccolo.