Trumpet.

A native of California, Stefan Cooper belongs to that growing number of fiercely talented classical musicians who have found their success outside the borders of their homeland. With a Bachelors degree in trumpet from California State University, Stanislaus and a Masters degree in Trumpet from Arizona State University, Mr. Cooper performed as soloist with several orchestras in the United States before coming to Europe where he now resides. Before joining the City Opera in Malmö, Sweden in 1997, he played principal trumpet with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Della RAI of Torino, Italy on their 1995 tour of Japan. He has also worked with many of the major orchestras in Sweden including the Malmö and Norrköping Symphony Orchestras and the Royal Opera in Stockholm. As a teacher and clinician

Mr. Cooper has worked on both sides of the Atlantic as well, from conservatory programs in three California high schools to the Strand Community Music School in Jørpeland, Norway, where he currently lives and teaches. Mr. Cooper s interests in music range widely, and he has also worked with ensembles such as the Gothenburg Music Ensemble, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Brass Ensemble, recorded with the Ernie Bucio Big Band in California, and performed with percussionist Steve Korn s Afro-Cuban Ensemble.

Mr. Cooper s CD debut, Meditation was released in the spring of 1998 as a charity project for Låt Kongo Leva (Keep the Congo Alive). A devout Christian, he is donating all his proceeds to the organization. Mr. Cooper has been invited to be the soloist in the December, 1999 concert series with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra in California.

Mr. Cooper s teachers include David Goedecke, Laurie McGaw, David Hickman and Bo Nilsson.