William B. Cooper Papers

William B. Cooper (1920-1993) was a native of Philadelphia. He received his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Philadelphia College or Performing Arts and a Doctorate of Music from Columbia Pacific University (California). In 1988, he was awarded a Doctorate of Sacred Music (honoris causa) from Christ Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York. Cooper pursued additional music studies at the School of Sacred Music of Union Theological Seminary (New York), the Manhattan School of Music, and Trinity College of Music (London). He served on the music faculties of Bennett College (Greensboro, NC) and Hampton University (Hampton, VA) as well as 26 years in the New York City School System. Cooper also served as Minister of Music at historic Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church (1953-74) and Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church (1974-88) in Harlem. His musical output consists of works for organ, voice, chorus, orchestra, and ballet. Composed in 1973, Pastorale is one of three Cooper organ works by this title. It is a set of variations based on a melody from William Walker’s 19th century compilation, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.

(Source: African-American Organ Composers by Mickey Thomas Terry. Ph.D. https://pipedreams.publicradio.org/articles/africanamericancomposers.shtml, last accessed February 23, 2023)