Artists in Residence: David Cooper, horn; Gaby Vargas, flute

1020 Simpkins Circle,Macomb IL 61455

19 September, 2021

Description

David Cooper (Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony) and Gaby Vargas (Flute Soloist and WIU Alum) Masterclass & Recital. WIU Artists in ResidenceDavid Cooper, horn | Gaby Vargas, flute2 pm - Flute & Horn Masterclass with WIU students4:30 pm - Guest Artist Recital (featuring Dr. Jeff Brown, piano)Tickets are $20 for the public and free for WIU School of Music students, faculty & staff. Register now - seating is limited. *Covid19 Policy* - All attendees must register for a ticket through EventBrite. Masks and social distancing are required in the COFAC Recital Hall. -------------- David Cooper Prior to his appointment to the CSO, Cooper served as Principal Horn of the Dallas Symphony, a position he has held since May 2013 after joining the Dallas Symphony as 3rd horn in 2011. He also served as Principal Horn of the Berlin Philharmonic from 2017 to 2018. He has also served as acting Principal Horn with the Victoria Symphony in 2006-2008 in Victoria British Columbia and Co-Associate Principal Horn of the Fort Worth Symphony from 2008-2011. He has been guest Principal Horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Liceu Opera in Barcelona, Spain. Cooper is also an avid chamber musician and plays solos all over the world. He has served as Music Director of the Avant Chamber Ballet in Dallas. David Cooper began his horn studies with Dr. Dale Bartlett in Lansing, Michigan. He comes from a horn playing family where both his uncle and grandmother performed as professional horn players in the Lansing Symphony. While still in high school, Cooper began performing with the Michigan State University orchestra and later went on to attend the Curtis Institute of Music. While at Curtis, Cooper received a Tanglewood Fellowship and later spent 3 consecutive summers at Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont beginning in 2011. David studied with Jerome Ashby while at the Curtis Institute of Music and Eric Ruske was his main teacher after leaving Curtis. In David's free time he enjoys doing Pilates and swimming and he loves animals and being outdoors. Gaby Vargas Described as a “quickly developing artist with a gorgeous, colorful tone” (La Nacion, 2011), Vargas musical flexibility makes her feel equally at home in a recital, chamber music, orchestral or solo environment. A native of San Jos, Costa Rica, Gabriela has won numerous awards and competitions that have lead her to performances in Central, South and North America. Vargas has been featured soloist with the Orquesta Sinfnica Nacional de Costa Rica (OSN), the Western Illinois University (WIU) Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) Wind Ensemble. Gabriela is an active musician in the Chicago area. Besides traditional classical repertoire, her love for Latin American and contemporary music has brought her to collaborations with Venezuelan and Brazilian musicians, as well as performances of works by renowned composers such as Michael Colgrass, Ian Clarke, Joseph Schwantner and Victoria Bond. Last season, Vargas world premiered the flute, narrator and ensemble version of Victoria Bond’s Pater Patriae: A Washington Portrait, which was broadcast live on 98.7WFMT, aired on CAN TV and recorded for Albany Records. Before moving to the United States, Gabriela performed three seasons with the Orquesta Sinfnica Nacional de Costa Rica and acted guest principal with the Orquesta Sinfnica Municipal de Heredia. As an orchestral musician, she has worked under numerous conductors such as Michael Lankester, Chosei Komatsu, Cliff Colnot, Leslie Dunner, James Paul and Alondra de la Parra, performing in venues like the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, Teatro Melico Salazar, Auditorio Nacional de Costa Rica as well as the Harris Theater, Auditorium Theater and the Symphony Center in Chicago. Miss Vargas holds the Bachelors and Licenciatura degrees from the Universidad de Costa Rica, a Masters degree from Western Illinois University and a Performance Diploma and Orchestral Studies Certificate from the CCPA of Roosevelt University where she studied with Donald Peck and later with Dionne Jackson, who continues to be her mentor and musical inspiration. She has also coached with world renowned flutists such as Robert Langevin, Jeanne Baxtresser, Alberto Almarza and Mathieu Dufour and with instrumentalists members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.