Antony Cooke, a protégé of the legendary pedagogue Helen Just, established an early career as a solo cellist, receiving artist diplomas from both the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music in London, studied theory and historical musicology under John Wilkinson, composition under Nadia Boulanger protégé John Lambert, and conducting under Sir Colin Davis. Gold medalist at the London Music Competition in 1966, he also received the prestigious “Young Musicians ‘73 Award” in London, and appeared as a BBC concerto soloist and recitalis. Cooke has concertized extensively throughout Europe and USA, recorded many solo and cello/piano CD’s and LP’s under the Centaur, PROdigital, and Golden Crest labels. In 1971 he became England’s youngest principal cellist (London Mozart Players, under Harry Blech), then England’s premier chamber orchestra, performing regularly with the ensemble as concerto soloist; during this time he also toured Israel with The London Symphony Orchestra. At the age of twenty-six Cooke was appointed as assistant professor of cello at the University of South Florida, subsequently, becoming associate professor of cello in the School of Music at Northwestern University in Chicago—a position he held until 1984, when he relocated to Southern California. In Los Angeles he established himself as one of the luminaries in the Hollywood recording industry, having participated in approximately 1500 movie soundtracks, countless television and record productions, and has composed music for prime time television. His compositions have been published by Kendor, Studio PR, Kjos Music, and CPP Bellwin, Inc. As a founding member of the Charles Ives Trio, Cooke is dedicated to the advancement of Ives’s music and related works. Cooke's published musical works have focused primarily on composer Charles Ives, with two volumes: the 2013 "Charles Ives and his Road to the Stars," and the newly released large resource volume, "Charles Ives's Musical Universe," the latter providing a new level of analytical and other pertinent information about the often misrepresented composer and his music. An informal, though intensive background in astronomy also has long accompanied his music; as author of five books on the subject, including the acclaimed "Astronomy and the Climate Crisis," Cooke’s astronomical titles are published by the second largest science publisher in the world, Springer.
