Robert Cooper,C.M.,B.Mus.,M.Mus.,D.Litt., Artistic Director, Conductor 
 

One of Canada’s leading conductors of choral music, Robert Cooper is also the Artistic Director of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Chorus Niagara, the Opera in Concert Chorus, and a Faculty member of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Mr. Cooper has had the honour of conducting the National Youth Choir of Canada and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1997 for a Celebration of Canadian Choral Music. As a superb choral trainer and conductor, Mr Cooper also provided strong artistic leadership to the Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir for 22 successful years, influencing over 2000 young adult singers.  Many of those singers have gone on to solo careers, while others are adding their own voices to various choirs across Canada. 

In addition to his work with choirs, Mr. Cooper has been involved with the presentation of more than 80 operas and has been a frequent guest conductor with opera companies across Canada. He has conducted symphony orchestras in Halifax, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Orchestra London, opera companies in Victoria, Ottawa and Winnipeg, choirs across Canada, as well as Toronto Operetta Theatre and Opera in Concert. Mr Cooper has also guest conducted at Newfoundland’s Festival 500, Parry Sound’s Festival of the Sound, the 2007 Ontario Youth Choir, and Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings. Acknowledged as an innovative programmer, Mr. Cooper has premiered works by many Canadian and international composers. 

This season, in addition to performances with his own ensembles, Mr Cooper returns to Toronto Operetta Theatre for their production of The Pirates of Penzance, guests for choirs in Winnipeg and Barrie and has been invited to adjudicate the World Choral Games in Shaozing, China in July 2010.

Mr. Cooper recently left CBC Radio Two after 31 years as Executive Producer of Opera and Choral Music and brought fine vocal and choral music to all of Canada. He has served as President of both the Ontario Choral Federation and the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, sat on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, and is currently on the Advisory Board of the International Federation of Choral Music. Robert Cooper is both a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Brock University and the Order of Canada for his significant contribution to the Canadian choral community.