A native of Pittsburgh, the American composer David Stock has held various teaching positions and received a number of honours and awards. He has done much to foster an interest in newer music among young audiences, with compositions that modify the esotericism of the avant-garde with the more widely acceptable.

Music
Stock is a prolific composer, with symphonies, concertos, chamber music and vocal music to his credit. His Jewish inheritance has played an important part in his work. His dramatic cantata A Little Miracle deals with a story of Jewish escape from Nazi persecutors; Yizkor, arranged for orchestra from a string-quartet movement, takes its title from the traditional memorial prayer; the three-movement work for trumpet and chamber orchestra Tekiah is based on the ritual sounding of the shofar; and Y’rusha draws on klezmorim repertoire.