Gabriel Kosakoff learned piano from his father. In the years before radio and television, there was often live music in his home played by luminary musicians twice each month in chamber concerts. When he heard that Mayor LaGuardia started a high school for musically gifted children he was determined to attend and practiced hard until 1940.

After the Army, he attended NYU, where he got a masters in music education and also attended the Mannes College where he was awarded a scholarship in trombone. Even though he could have gone on to play professionally, in 1956 he was offered a job at M&A in the instrumental music department and eventually went on to chair that department from 1968 until 1991. Music education was in its infancy and Mr. Kosakoff was the architect of the curriculum for advanced instrumental music education. He introduced many innovative additions including electronic arts, recording, jazz and alternative music forms. He also oversaw curriculum development and the design and construction of the musical facilities at LaGuardia High School, including a new instrument repair shop, and continued to adjust the curriculum and audition procedures at M&A and Performing Arts so that they were identical when the two schools merged into LaGuardia High School. He was the founding conductor of the All-City High School Band, which he conducted for nearly 20 years. He has also taught at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, City College, Long Island University and the New York College of Music.

Mr. Kosakoff has an encyclopedic knowledge about the history of the schools (Music & Art, Performing Arts and LaGuardia High Schools) and continues to dedicate his time to LaGuardia High School and music education. He is a member of the board of Alumni & Friends and sits on the board of Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Mr. Kosakoff’s students can be found playing and conducting at many of the major concert halls worldwide. For those who did not choose to pursue music professionally, they learned to hear and understand music in ways that enriched their lives.