University of Essex Choir - The Conductor Richard Cooke

The Music Director

Richard Cooke is now in his 30th season as Music Director of the University of Essex Choir, during which time the choir has gained an enviable reputation performing a wide repertoire in the East of England. holds similar positions with the Royal Choral Society (since 1995) and Canterbury Choral Society (since 1984).

He was a boy chorister of St Paul's Cathedral, and later sang as a Choral Scholar in the choir of King's College, Cambridge. He was Conductor of the London Philharmonic Choir for ten years from 1982, working with the world's leading conductors, including Haitink, Muti, Mehta, Solti and Klaus Tennstedt.

He has appeared many times in the concert halls of London with the Royal Choral Society since 1995. Most notable of these have been their annual Good Friday performances of Handel's Messiah and spectacular Christmas Carol Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall. He has conducted many of the country's leading orchestras in the cathedrals of Peterborough, Winchester, Salisbury, Norwich, St. Edmundsbury and Rochester, and in the concert halls of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Snape Maltings, Belfast and Dublin.

Born in Cornwall, he returns there each summer for his favourite outdoor activity, body-surfing off the north Cornwall coast. He also enjoys cycling and hill walking (climbing Munros and their equivalents) in Scotland and Wales. In 2009 he took part in a sponsored cycle ride through Jordan raising money for the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre in Canterbury, for which many amongst the University of Essex Choir generously provided sponsorship.

He has conducted over one hundred and thirty concerts in Canterbury Cathedral with Canterbury Choral Society, including each year in the Canterbury Festival. In January 2005 they recorded Elgar's Oratorio The Apostles with The Philharmonia Orchestra, released on CD in January 2006. He has also recorded Orff'’s Carmina Burana with the Royal Choral Society and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared with the Gothenburg and Helsingborg Symphony Orchestras, and on many other occasions in Sweden and Denmark. He is Artistic Director of "Music Weeks in Sweden", a well-established summer and winter choral course.

Richard Cooke had an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music at the University of Kent conferred on him in Canterbury Cathedral in November 2010. He was similarly honoured in 1996 by the University of Essex in recognition of his work for the musical life of the University.

Comments or queries? Email: choir-webmaster; non-Essex users should add @essex.ac.uk to create full e-mail address
Last updated on February 04, 2013