Dr. Joseph Cooper is the trumpet professor at Oklahoma State University. He is a dedicated educator and a highly active performer. He has extensive teaching experience of all ages, from beginners to graduate students, and he performs regularly with orchestras, chamber ensembles, solo recitals, and as a member of Composite Brass, a new trumpet and saxophone duo.

 

Equally devoted to his students pursuing careers in music performance and music education, his current and former students have enjoyed great success. They have performed at summer festivals nationally and internationally. They have presented at music education conferences, as featured clinicians, and they have prepared performances for the National Trumpet Competition and the International Trumpet Guild Conference. Former students have gone on to pursue graduate degrees, are active performers, and are band directors in Texas, Oklahoma and Minnesota. High school students from his studio auditioned into the National Youth Orchestra and NYO2, were accepted into many of the best collegiate trumpet studios nationally and have auditioned into top chairs in the All-State band, orchestra and jazz ensembles for both OkMEA and TMEA.

 

Cooper has performed with the Tulsa Symphony, the Tulsa Ballet and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Additional performances include the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio, Colorado Symphony, and the Breckenridge Music Festival, among many others. He has performed in popular genres, too, including at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, and for Peter Gabriel, Kristin Chenoweth, PDQ Bach, and Idina Menzel. He has toured the world, giving performances across the United States and in Hong Kong, Japan, China, England, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany. 

 

Originally from Sanford, Florida, Dr. Cooper received music degrees from Indiana University-Bloomington (B.M.), Rice University (M.M.), and The University of Texas at Austin (D.M.A.). His principal teachers include John Almeida, John Rommel, Marie Speziale, and Ray Sasaki. Cooper is an active member of the International Trumpet Guild.