Drake Mabry

In the early part of his career, Drake Mabry pursued a traditional classical music career performing as first oboe with symphony orchestras in three countries. He then switched to tenor saxophone, playing primarily in jazz big bands. From 1976 he continued his educational studies with Master and Doctoral degrees in music composition working with Paul Cooper, John Cage, and Krzysztof Penderecki.

While he was teaching at Dartmouth College in 1984, a chance encounter in the music department hallway resulted in Mabry's traveling to France for a year to explore the musical worlds of Paris. He moved permanently to France in 1988, and today he lives and works in Nice, France.

In 2003 he began developing a music in which silence is equally important with sound. The result is over 60 "Silent Duration" works, from solo instruments to full orchestra. Over 25 have been performed or recorded.

In 2011 he went to visit Istanbul, where he stayed several years and studied the Turkish ney and ebru painting. He also explored and developed new concepts and techniques for the ney.

The outcome of all of these life experiences is a constant interest in perpetual development, curiosity, and collaboration between who he is as a person and how this is expressed through his art forms in music, painting and poetry.