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Gary Cooper - keyboards

Gary Cooper (Keyboards) Gary studied organ and harpsichord at Chetham’s School of Music, the John Loosemore Centre, and was an organ scholar at New College, Oxford. Between 1992 & 2000, he was a member of the highly-acclaimed baroque ensemble Sonnerie, with whom he performed regularly throughout Europe and the United States, and recorded frequently on both disc and radio. Gary predominantly makes appearances as soloist, director, accompanist, and chamber musician. He also performs regularly with ensembles such as The King’s Consort and Concordia.

Gary is musical director of The New Chamber Opera and The Band of the Instruments, whose past productions have included Britten’s Turn of the Screw, Handel’s Xerxes, Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto and Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Forthcoming recordings with ASV include a project to record Vivaldi’s complete Cantatas, and Charpentier’s complete stage works composed for the Comédie-Française; the Band of Instruments is currently early music ensemble-in-residence at Oxford University. Gary was recently appointed musical director of Kent Opera.

Gary is now established as one of the foremost ambassadors of the harpsichord and fortepiano, and in particular, as an interpreter of Bach’s keyboard music. During 2000, he made his solo Wigmore Hall debut performing the complete Well-Tempered Clavier, and has since given many performances of both the WTC, and the Goldberg Variations, at venues throughout Europe, N. America & Asia. Gary has made many recordings, for radio, TV & on disc, including an award-winning CD of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book I, which was chosen as the Sunday Times Classical Record of the Year, 2000. He is also an established conductor, having worked with many ensembles – most recently Portland Baroque Orchestra in the USA. He has been Musical Director of Kent Opera since 2002, conducting performances of Britten’s Albert Herring and Handel's Acis & Galatea, will be conducting Handel’s Alcina for English Touring Opera during the latter part of 2005; and also appearing as soloist/director in performances of Mozart's Piano Concertos throughout the forthcoming season. His new duo partnership with violinist Rachel Podger commences, on disc, with this long-term project to record the complete Sonatas for Violin & Piano by Mozart – a project which has already attracted considerable critical interest & acclaim. During 2005 and 06, in addition to many concerts planned with Rachel, he will also be recording both Mozart & Beethoven's Variations on fortepiano, and performing Mozart's complete keyboard Sonatas in concert.

Gary was named "Best Newcomer in Classical Music, 2001" in the Times; and has been dubbed "a rising star in early music" (Observer), “something of a genius” (Times), and most recently, a Sunday Times critic declared “music-making rarely comes as impressive as this” in response to hearing a complete performance of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book II.