What is your name?
Doug Gorkoff

Where are you from?
Burnaby BC

Where do you live now?
Vancouver BC

What instrument do you play?
Cello is the only instrument I play seriously, but for fun I mess around with drums, guitar, ukulele and I used to play bassoon!

How long have you played your instrument?
30 years

What made you pick that instrument?
My grandfather was a cellist and double bassist. My sister, Laura (former KSO principal cellist), plays as well.

Where did you study?
I studied with my grandfather, Syd Keats, from age 5-18. I went on to study privately with members of the Vancouver Symphony and Vancouver Opera orchestras, but mostly with Natasha Boyko.

If you could have dinner with any composer (living or dead) who would it be and why?
Shostakovich. I feel like he’d have a lot of fascinating stories to tell. He was good friends with master cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and I’d be curious to hear what sort of mischief they got into other than making amazing music together.

What is your favourite genre of music, other than classical music?
World fusion, jazz, funk, classic rock, anything experimental and lots of extreme heavy metal!

What is your favourite band?
I can’t pick just one! Lately I’ve been listening to Snarky Puppy, Gojira and Led Zeppelin.

Other than the KSO, who do you perform with?
Black Dog String Quartet, Plastic Acid Orchestra, Prince George Symphony, Vancouver Island Symphony, Vancouver Metripolitan Orchestra. I freelance with countless others and I’ve been playing quite a bit of contemporary music lately too. I’m also a very active private teacher and clinician.

What are some interesting places you have traveled to?
My two trips to Italy have been some of my most memorable travels. My sister lives in Florence and she was able to get me a handful of gigs including playing two shows in an orchestra backing up Sting! I’m hoping to go back for another visit soon.

What are your hobbies outside of music?
Avid skier, fair weather cyclist, cooking, road trips, camping, exploring.

What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Cookies ‘n Cream

What is your guilty pleasure?
A cold beer (or two) after a long day of rehearsals or after playing a great concert!

Do you get nervous? And how do you calm your nerves before a performance?
Not often anymore. Being properly prepared is the biggest thing. I often like to go for a short walk to clear my head before a performance.

Please add anything that you'd like to share with our audience
An orchestra is nothing without an audience to play for. The arts are not a luxury. They are an integral part of cultures around the world and a necessity for building a stable and long lasting community. Thanks for being so supportive of your KSO!