Dr. Nathan Shook is a tuba performer and educator whose career spans collegiate teaching, orchestral and chamber performance, and the commissioning of new music. Dr. Shook serves as the instructor of tuba and euphonium at Eastern Michigan University and Western Michigan University.

As a performer, Dr. Shook is principal tuba of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Lakeside Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Flint Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, and the Cleveland Opera. He has also performed at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference, International Women’s Brass Conference, Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference, and Heartland Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference. He is featured on the University of Michigan recording of John Luther Adams’s Sila, which received a 2023 Grammy nomination.

Dr. Shook was awarded first place in the Midwest Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference orchestral mock competition and, as a member of the A2ba Quartet, won first place in the chamber music competition. He was also a semi-finalist in the International Tuba Euphonium Conference orchestral mock competition and won 3rd prize in the chamber music competition with A2ba Quartet. 

As a champion for chamber music and contemporary repertoire, Dr. Shook has commissioned or participated in consortia for numerous new works for tuba, euphonium, and mixed ensembles. Also a passionate advocate for educational music, he recorded the tuba edition of Diversify the Stand’s book of solos for students titled Winds of Change. These recordings can be found on Diversity the Stand’s YouTube channel.

Dr. Shook is a member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association and serves on its Materials Review Committee. He is committed to developing the next generation of low-brass musicians while expanding the tuba’s repertoire through performance, collaboration, and commissioning. His former students have been accepted to study music at the University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon University, the Peabody Conservatory, Interlochen Arts Academy, and other leading music programs. His students have won the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony concerto competition, served as alternates for the National Youth Orchestra, played principal tuba for the Michigan All-State band, given high school recitals, and performed with the DCI corps.

Dr. Shook earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Tuba Performance from the University of Michigan. He holds a Specialist Degree in Tuba Performance and a Master of Music in both Tuba Performance and Chamber Music from the University of Michigan, as well as a Bachelor of Music Education from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music.