User:Knifegames/sandbox/Laura Cocks

Laura Cocks is an American flutist known for their work in contemporary classical and experimental music. Cocks has received wide acclaim for their solo work  and is a member of Talea Ensemble and co-founder and executive director of TAK ensemble.

Education and career
Cocks grew up in Green Oaks, a small town north of Chicago, Illinois.

Cocks studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, completed a master's at the Manhattan School of Music, and in 2020 received a Doctor of Musical Arts from CUNY Graduate Center.

In 2022, Cocks released their solo debut, field anatomies, on Carrier Records. The record received wide acclaim, including charting in the Billboard top 10 for "Classical Crossover" releases, Stereogum's best experimental albums of 2022, and Bandcamp Daily's best releases for both experimental and contemporary classical music. The album comprises five works composed by David Bird, Bethany Younge, Jessie Cox, DM R, and Joan Arnau Pàimes, with Bird's piece receiving special acknowledgment in The New York Times. The compositions showcase Cocks' technical prowess and extensively feature extended techniques, including unconventional materials such as aluminum foil, balloons, and glass.

Laura is also a member of SUN HAN GUILD and performs regularly with the International Contemporary Ensemble and Wet Ink Ensemble.

With TAK ensemble

 * TAK Ensemble & Taylor Brook, Ecstatic Music: TAK plays Brook (New Focus, 2016)
 * TAK Ensemble & Mario Diaz de León, Sanctuary (Denovali, 2017)
 * TAK Ensemble, Oor (TAK Editions, 2019)
 * TAK Ensemble & Scott L. Miller, Ghost Layers (New Focus, 2020)
 * TAK ensemble & Taylor Brook, Star Maker Fragments (TAK editions, 2021)
 * TAK & Brandon Lopez, Empty And/Or Church of Plenty (Tripticks Tapes, 2021)
 * TAK ensemble & Ashkan Behzadi, Love, Crystal and Stone (TAK, 2022)

As performer

 * Vijay Iyer, Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi (ECM, 2014)
 * Bryan Jacobs, Dis Un Il Im Ir (Carrier, 2014)
 * Brett Cimbalik & Brad Fritcher, Sunrider (Chambray, 2015)
 * Alex Mincek, Torrent (Sound American, 2017)
 * Scott L. Miller, Raba (New Focus, 2018)
 * The Nouveau Classical Project, Currents (Gold Bolus, 2018)
 * Gabi, Empty Me (2018)
 * Majetic, Club Dread (2018)
 * Michael Beharie, Promise (2022)
 * Sugar Vendil, May We Know Our Own Strength (Gold Bolus, 2022)