A member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1986, Gary Stucka began playing cello at the age of eight and received his first lessons at the Park View School in Morton Grove, Illinois. He subsequently studied with Harry Sturm and Leonard Chausow.
As a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, he received the Louis Sudler Foundation for the Musical Arts Award. Stucka continued his studies as a scholarship student of Karl Fruh at Roosevelt University’s Chicago Musical College (now the Chicago College of Performing Arts), where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
He was Assistant Principal Cello of the Grant Park Orchestra, and he served as Principal of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to 1981. In 1981, he joined the Cleveland Orchestra, where he remained until joining the CSO.
A member of the Pressenda Trio since 1989, Stucka also has performed with the Chicago Symphony String Quartet. In addition to many guest soloist appearances with numerous orchestras in the United States and Canada, he has served on the faculties of Northwestern University and the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
