David Eli Stockhammer

May 30, 1932 - August 18, 2025 David Stockhammer, violist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for over four decades, passed away on August 18, 2025. He was 93 years old.

Growing up in rural Saskatchewan, David's passion for music and devotion to the violin ushered him to the Juilliard School in New York where he studied with Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay and the original Juilliard String Quartet. After holding professorships at the University of Georgia and Evansville College, he continued his education at the University of Southern California in the classes of Jascha Heifetz and Eudice Shapiro, receiving his doctoral degree.

As a violinist, David Stockhammer co-founded the LA Chamber Orchestra in 1968. Then, in 1973 on a whim and a dare, he auditioned for a viola seat in the Los Angeles Philharmonic after two weeks of practicing and mastering the intricacies of the new instrument. He remained an ecstatic member until 2012, playing under music directors Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, André Previn, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Gustavo Dudamel.

After retiring from the viola section, David remained a fixture at Philharmonic rehearsals and concerts, continued teaching "the fiddle", and revisited the language of his youth - taking classes in Yiddish literature. His palpable excitement for culture remained with him through his last days.

Survived by his wife Janice, children Cynthia and Jonathan, their mother Susan, and grandchildren Asher, Eden, Esme and Mathis-Lev, his warmth, levity and insight are already painfully missed.