Francis Judd Cooke

Francis Judd Cooke (born December 28, 1910 in Honolulu , † May 18, 1995 in Lexington / Massachusetts ) was an American composer , organist , pianist , cellist , conductor and music teacher.

biography

Francis Judd Cooke began to compose at an early age, his first valid works were written when he was fourteen years old. After studying music at Yale University , he studied composition with Charles Martin Loeffler for two years from 1933 . In 1935 he continued his training with Donald Francis Tovey at the University of Edinburgh , where he received the degree of Bachelor of Music (with honors) in 1938. During his studies in Scotland he married the violist May Ludwig , with whom he settled in Lexington.

In 1939 his friend Quincy Porter brought him to the New England Conservatory of Music . There he taught composition, counterpoint, theory of forms, music interpretation and music literature until 1970. He also taught at Yale University (1959–1960) and Wellesley College (1973–1979). His students included Sarah Caldwell , Stephen Casale , Halim El-Dabh , David Epstein , Ercolino Ferretti , William Hibbard , Billy Jim Layton , Ruth Lomon , Richard Ronsheim , Albert Tepper and Luise Vosgerchian . The New England Conservatory awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1974.

In his hometown of Lexington Cooke worked from 1955 to 1981 as organist and choirmaster at First Parish Church . There he premiered many of his choral, organ and chamber music works and over the years played all of Johann Sebastian Bach's organ preludes and fugues . Occasionally he also appeared in concerts as a cellist, pianist or conductor.

In 1981 a stroke ended his career as a performing musician and he devoted himself entirely to composition. In the last fourteen years of his life he wrote numerous choral and orchestral works as well as chamber music for strings, wood and brass.

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personal data
SURNAME	Cooke, Francis Judd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American composer, organist, pianist, cellist, conductor and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH	December 28, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH	Honolulu
DATE OF DEATH	May 18, 1995
Place of death	Lexington, Massachusetts