David Doke
Dr. David Doke has been teaching music in the Cobb County School District for 28 years, and holds the distinction of being the founding director for two Cobb County Orchestra Programs. He began his teaching career as the first director of the North Cobb High School Orchestra Program in 1994. Dr. Doke left North Cobb in 2006 to open Hillgrove High School, where he currently serves as Director of Orchestras.
As a music educator, Dr. Doke has led his students in performances in Orlando, Savannah, St. Louis, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington (2012), Orchestra Hall in Chicago (2013), Symphony Hall in Boston (2006), and three times at Carnegie Hall in New York (2011, 2014 & 2017). Dr. Doke has conducted orchestras at the Georgia Music Educators State Conference on three occasions, once with the North Cobb Symphony (2001) and twice with the Hillgrove Orchestra (2010, 2015). In 2016 the Hillgrove Orchestras and Bands performed in Beijing and Shanghai, China during a ten-day concert tour. In June of 2019 Hillgrove traveled to Normandy, France and performed in the celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. Hillgrove is currently scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall again in April 2022.
Dr. Doke has presented several clinics at the GMEA State Conference and at the American String Teachers Association National Conference. In 2020 he was selected as a clinician for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. Dr. Doke has also served as conductor for several GMEA Honor Orchestras, the Evergreen (WA) Honor Orchestra and the University of Georgia Summer Music Camps.
As an advocate for alternative styles strings, Dr. Doke was interviewed live on CNN Headline News in 2002, discussing popular music and technology in the music classroom. During the interview he performed the Bach E Major Partita on a Yamaha electric violin. In 2003 Dr. Doke received the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Honor Teacher Award, and in Spring of 2012 he was honored to be named STAR Teacher at Hillgrove.
Prior to his career in music education Dr. Doke played violin professionally in several orchestras around the world, including the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, La Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico in Toluca, Mexico, and the Mexico Philharmonic in Mexico City, Mexico. He has performed at venues such as Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, el Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Smetana Hall in Prague, the International Mahler Festival in Dobbiaco, Italy, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Berlin Philharmonie in Germany. In September of 2007, he was the featured soloist with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra where he performed the Vivaldi Concerto for Mandolin. During his travels as a professional musician, Dr. Doke was fortunate to have performed with some of the world’s most talented artists including Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zuckerman, Midori, Joshua Bell, Julie Andrews, Jose Carreras, and Placido Domingo.
Dr. Doke holds a Doctorate in Music Education from Boston University’s School of Music. His dissertation, Collaborative Learning Among High School Students in an Alternative Styles String Ensemble, reflects his interest in Alternative Styles. He also holds a Master of Music in Violin Performance from DePaul University in Chicago, and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the Conservatory of Music at The University of Missouri – Kansas City.
Dr. Doke remains active as a freelance violinist in the Atlanta metropolitan area and frequently serves as an adjudicator and clinician throughout the southeast. His professional affiliations include NAfME, GMEA, ASTA, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Dr. Doke and his wife Allison have been married since 1989 and have two children. His interests outside of music include cooking, rock climbing, backpacking, golf and most of all…traveling with his family.
As a music educator, Dr. Doke has led his students in performances in Orlando, Savannah, St. Louis, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington (2012), Orchestra Hall in Chicago (2013), Symphony Hall in Boston (2006), and three times at Carnegie Hall in New York (2011, 2014 & 2017). Dr. Doke has conducted orchestras at the Georgia Music Educators State Conference on three occasions, once with the North Cobb Symphony (2001) and twice with the Hillgrove Orchestra (2010, 2015). In 2016 the Hillgrove Orchestras and Bands performed in Beijing and Shanghai, China during a ten-day concert tour. In June of 2019 Hillgrove traveled to Normandy, France and performed in the celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings. Hillgrove is currently scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall again in April 2022.
Dr. Doke has presented several clinics at the GMEA State Conference and at the American String Teachers Association National Conference. In 2020 he was selected as a clinician for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. Dr. Doke has also served as conductor for several GMEA Honor Orchestras, the Evergreen (WA) Honor Orchestra and the University of Georgia Summer Music Camps.
As an advocate for alternative styles strings, Dr. Doke was interviewed live on CNN Headline News in 2002, discussing popular music and technology in the music classroom. During the interview he performed the Bach E Major Partita on a Yamaha electric violin. In 2003 Dr. Doke received the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Honor Teacher Award, and in Spring of 2012 he was honored to be named STAR Teacher at Hillgrove.
Prior to his career in music education Dr. Doke played violin professionally in several orchestras around the world, including the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, La Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico in Toluca, Mexico, and the Mexico Philharmonic in Mexico City, Mexico. He has performed at venues such as Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, el Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Smetana Hall in Prague, the International Mahler Festival in Dobbiaco, Italy, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Berlin Philharmonie in Germany. In September of 2007, he was the featured soloist with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra where he performed the Vivaldi Concerto for Mandolin. During his travels as a professional musician, Dr. Doke was fortunate to have performed with some of the world’s most talented artists including Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zuckerman, Midori, Joshua Bell, Julie Andrews, Jose Carreras, and Placido Domingo.
Dr. Doke holds a Doctorate in Music Education from Boston University’s School of Music. His dissertation, Collaborative Learning Among High School Students in an Alternative Styles String Ensemble, reflects his interest in Alternative Styles. He also holds a Master of Music in Violin Performance from DePaul University in Chicago, and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the Conservatory of Music at The University of Missouri – Kansas City.
Dr. Doke remains active as a freelance violinist in the Atlanta metropolitan area and frequently serves as an adjudicator and clinician throughout the southeast. His professional affiliations include NAfME, GMEA, ASTA, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Dr. Doke and his wife Allison have been married since 1989 and have two children. His interests outside of music include cooking, rock climbing, backpacking, golf and most of all…traveling with his family.