Francis Judd Cooke
Encyclopedia
Francis Judd Cooke was an American
composer, organist, cellist, pianist, conductor, choir director, and professor.
, to a family of New England
missionaries turned cattle ranchers. He was the great grandson of Gerrit P. Judd
, the first doctor to reside in Hawaii, and grandson of Albert Francis Judd
, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. His mother was Sophie Boyd Judd, and father was George Paul Cooke, grandson of Amos Starr Cooke
and Juliette Montague Cooke, founders of the Royal School of Hawaii.
Cooke began composing at an early age and his first serious pieces date from age 14. He received a B.A. in music from Yale University
in 1933, where he was a member of Skull and Bones
. He then studied for two years with Charles Martin Loeffler
in Medfield, Massachusetts
. In 1935 he went to Scotland
to study with Donald Francis Tovey
at the University of Edinburgh
, receiving a Mus. Bac. (Bachelor of Music) degree with First Class Honours in 1938. While studying in Scotland he met and married violist
May Ludwig. They settled in Lexington, Massachusetts
, where they raised six children.
In 1939 Cooke began teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music
, at the request of the Conservatory's then-director, Quincy Porter
. His notable students there included John Bavicchi, Sarah Caldwell
, Héctor Campos-Parsi
, Stephen Casale, Robert Ceely, Robert Cogan
, Lyle Davidson, Halim El-Dabh
, David Epstein, Ercolino Ferretti, William Hibbard, Billy Jim Layton, Ruth Lomon, Kenneth Peacock
, Richard Ronsheim, Ernie Stires
, Albert Tepper, and Luise Vosgerchian. He retired in 1970.
He also taught at Yale University
in 1959-1960 and at Wellesley College from 1973 to 1979.
A prolific composer, Cooke wrote a great number of choral and orchestral works, as well as chamber works. One CD of his music, entitled The Warsaw Recordings (which he did not live to hear), has been released.
In 1974 he completed a music textbook entitled Sixteenth-Century Vocal Polyphony. In the same year he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from the New England Conservatory.
Cooke suffered a stroke in 1981, hampering his organ playing and choir directing, and he turned to composing full-time during the last 14 years of his life. On May 18, 1995, at the age of 84, he died in his sleep at his home in Lexington
, Massachusetts
, where he had lived for 51 years. He had completed that morning a movement for wind quintet ("Dolce assai"), which was performed at his memorial service the following week at Lexington's First Parish Church (Unitarian), where he had served as organist and choirmaster from 1955 to 1981.
Cooke, who greatly enjoyed poetry, used to sum up his own life with a favorite couplet from the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore
's Gitanjali
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer, organist, cellist, pianist, conductor, choir director, and professor.
Life
Cooke was born December 28, 1910 in Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, to a family of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
missionaries turned cattle ranchers. He was the great grandson of Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit Parmele Judd was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.- Life :...
, the first doctor to reside in Hawaii, and grandson of Albert Francis Judd
Albert Francis Judd
Albert Francis Judd was a judge of the Kingdom of Hawaii who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court through its transition into part of the United States.-Life:...
, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. His mother was Sophie Boyd Judd, and father was George Paul Cooke, grandson of Amos Starr Cooke
Amos Starr Cooke
Amos Starr Cooke was an educator and businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century.-Life:Amos Starr Cooke was born in Danbury, Connecticut, December 1, 1810....
and Juliette Montague Cooke, founders of the Royal School of Hawaii.
Cooke began composing at an early age and his first serious pieces date from age 14. He received a B.A. in music from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1933, where he was a member of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. He then studied for two years with Charles Martin Loeffler
Charles Martin Loeffler
Charles Martin Loeffler was a German-born American violinist and composer.- Birthplace :Throughout his career Loeffler claimed to have been born in Mulhouse, Alsace and almost all music encyclopedias give this fabricated information. In his lifetime articles were published dissecting his...
in Medfield, Massachusetts
Medfield, Massachusetts
Medfield is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,024 according to the 2010 Census. Medfield is an affluent community about 17 miles southwest of Boston....
. In 1935 he went to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to study with Donald Francis Tovey
Donald Francis Tovey
Sir Donald Francis Tovey was a British musical analyst, musicologist, writer on music, composer, conductor and pianist...
at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, receiving a Mus. Bac. (Bachelor of Music) degree with First Class Honours in 1938. While studying in Scotland he met and married violist
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
May Ludwig. They settled in Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
, where they raised six children.
In 1939 Cooke began teaching at the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
, at the request of the Conservatory's then-director, Quincy Porter
Quincy Porter
Quincy Porter was an American composer and teacher of classical music.Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included Horatio Parker and David Stanley Smith. Porter received two awards while studying music at Yale: the Osborne Prize for Fugue, and the...
. His notable students there included John Bavicchi, Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell
Sarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
, Héctor Campos-Parsi
Héctor Campos-Parsi
Héctor Campos-Parsi was a Puerto Rican composer. He studied at the New England Conservatory with Francis Judd Cooke, he also studied with Paul Hindemith. In Tanglewood he studied with Oliver Messiaen and Aaron Copland and in France with Nadia Boulanger.-Early years:Héctor Campos-Parsi was born in...
, Stephen Casale, Robert Ceely, Robert Cogan
Robert Cogan
Robert Cogan is an American music theorist, composer and teacher, who seeks to challenge new domains of musical composition and theory....
, Lyle Davidson, Halim El-Dabh
Halim El-Dabh
Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh is an Egyptian-born American composer, performer, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who has had a career spanning six decades...
, David Epstein, Ercolino Ferretti, William Hibbard, Billy Jim Layton, Ruth Lomon, Kenneth Peacock
Kenneth Peacock
Kenneth Howard Peacock was a Canadian ethnomusicologist, composer, and pianist. He was a leading authority in Canadian enthnomusicology, and his research and publications in that field had a profound impact on the folk music revival in Canada of the mid to late 20th century...
, Richard Ronsheim, Ernie Stires
Ernie Stires
Ernest Stires was an American composer, musician, and mentor. His jazz-based classical music has been performed both throughout the United States and abroad....
, Albert Tepper, and Luise Vosgerchian. He retired in 1970.
He also taught at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1959-1960 and at Wellesley College from 1973 to 1979.
A prolific composer, Cooke wrote a great number of choral and orchestral works, as well as chamber works. One CD of his music, entitled The Warsaw Recordings (which he did not live to hear), has been released.
In 1974 he completed a music textbook entitled Sixteenth-Century Vocal Polyphony. In the same year he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from the New England Conservatory.
Cooke suffered a stroke in 1981, hampering his organ playing and choir directing, and he turned to composing full-time during the last 14 years of his life. On May 18, 1995, at the age of 84, he died in his sleep at his home in Lexington
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, where he had lived for 51 years. He had completed that morning a movement for wind quintet ("Dolce assai"), which was performed at his memorial service the following week at Lexington's First Parish Church (Unitarian), where he had served as organist and choirmaster from 1955 to 1981.
Cooke, who greatly enjoyed poetry, used to sum up his own life with a favorite couplet from the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
's Gitanjali
Gitanjali
Gitanjali is a collection of 103 English poems, largely translations, of the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.This volume became very famous in the West, and was widely translated....
:
- "It was my part at the feast to play upon my instrument
- And I have done all I could
Published writings
- Review of Modal Counterpoint in the Style of the Sixteenth Century by Ernst KrenekErnst KrenekErnst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
. Journal of Music Theory, vol. 4, no. 1 (April 1960), pp. 112-116.