Ian Cooper (violinist)


Ian Cooper is an Australian violinist. He was commissioned to compose and perform the for the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney. The event was televised worldwide with an estimated 2.85 billion viewers. He performs many musical styles including Classical, Gypsy, Jazz, Irish & Country music and has appeared with Tommy Emmanuel, James Morrison, Olivia Newton-John, Barry White, Simon Tedeschi, Deni Hines, and Silverchair.

Background

Cooper began learning the violin at age 4 from his mother Jan Cooper, a Suzuki Violin teacher. He performed the Seitz Violin Concerto No. 2 Allegro Moderato at age 6 on the Seven Network's 11AM program with Roger Climpson. At age 7, Cooper performed concerts in the USA and Canada, representing Australia at the Suzuki Violin World Conference. At age 8, he was awarded a scholarship to the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney where he studied with Christopher Kimber, Harry Curby, and Laslo Kiss. He was subsequently awarded a music scholarship to Knox Grammar School where he also studied drums and percussion. At age 10, a performance in Japan was broadcast on NHK Television.
In 1990, Cooper was mentored by the French Jazz Violinist Stéphane Grappelli. After performing with the guitarist Tommy Emmanuel at his invitation at the Sydney Opera House in 1992, Cooper joined Emmanuel on tour until 1997. Cooper has also been a member of trumpeter James Morrison's sextet since 2007.

Instruments

Cooper's main violin was made by E.H. Roth in Markneukirchen, Germany in 1926 and is modelled on an Antonio Stradivari 1714 Cremona instrument. His electric violins are Epoch, Guscott and E.F. Keebler.

Discography