THOMAS COOPER, hailed as a “stop-in-your-tracks stunner” (99.5 WCRB), and “delightfully spirited [with a] rich tone” (Cleveland Classical), violinist Thomas Cooper has established himself as one of the most dynamic young musicians and leaders of his generation. A three-time winner of New England Conservatory’s Entrepreneurial Musicianship award, Cooper is the Founder and Artistic Director of Fermata Chamber Soloists, an award-winning collective of young artists performing innovative concerts.
As a soloist, Cooper has appeared with several American orchestras, including the Colorado College Festival Orchestra, the Coeur D’Alene Symphony Orchestra, the Credo Baroque Orchestra, the Du Bois Orchestra of Harvard, and the Middlesex Chamber Orchestra among others. He is a laureate of the Naftzger, Arlington, Coeur D’Alene, and Cremona International Competitions, and was a semi-finalist at the 2018 Washington International Competition.
As an orchestral player, Cooper is concertmaster of the Du Bois Orchestra of Harvard, a professional orchestra dedicated to performing works by historically marginalized composers. Additionally, he performs with the Boston Philharmonic, Portland’s Palaver Strings, and the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Cooper has performed alongside the Oberlin Trio, the Jupiter String Quartet, pianist Evgeny Sinaiski and violinist Vadim Gluzman.
A native of the Boston area, Cooper received his formal training at New England Conservatory and Oberlin Conservatory with Soovin Kim, Malcolm Lowe, Milan Vitek and Peter Slowik.