John Cooper was born in Staffordshire in 1958.
He studied clarinet with Sydney Fell and saxophone with Neville
Duckworth, becoming the first student to gain the Professional
Performers’ diploma in saxophone at the Royal Northern College of
Music. Upon graduating he was appointed co-principal clarinet to
the Orquestra Sinfonica de Bilbao in Northern Spain. He remained
there for two years, returning to Manchester to follow a busy and
varied freelance career.
In 1986 John joined the BBC National Orchestra
of Wales as second and Eb clarinet. He is also the orchestra’s
principal saxophonist and, in more than two decades of
orchestral playing, has played all of the repertoire for
saxophone several times.
In addition to orchestral duties, John
enjoys a varied musical life as a chamber music player and is also
active as a jazz musician, with Iain Ballamy as his main
mentor.