Jessica Cooper
Soprano
New England Finalist, 2003

Jessica Cooper was the New England region winner of the national NATSAA competition, and was a national semi-finalist for the NATSAA competition in San Diego last summer. She sang the soprano roles in Handel's Samson with the Boston Cecilia in Jordan Hall, and has been a soloist in the Cecilia's popular Christmas concerts for the past three years. She was warmly heralded as "a welcome addition to Boston's top rank of Handel sopranos" by Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer in the October 2001 review of Samson. She was also acclaimed in the Boston Globe for her performance of John Harbison's Simple Daylight in Jordan Hall in the New England Conservatory's Boston Composers Series. Dyer wrote, "Jessica Cooper sang with beautiful tone, and backed up emotional intensity with technical security." Ms. Cooper was also heard as a finalist in the New England MET regionals last year.

Ms. Cooper was a fellow in the Pacific Music Festival and has appeared with the La Jolla Symphony, New England Conservatory Honors Orchestra, San Diego State University Symphony, and in recital in the Stockbridge Chamber Concert series, at Sapporo City Hall and the San Diego Athenaeum. She was the winner of the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition, and performed with the Honors Orchestra in the 2000 Commencement ceremonies. Jessica performed the role of Titania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the New England Conservatory in January 1999, and sang the role of Lucia in the NEC 2000 production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, both directed by John Moriarty. Other roles in her repertoire include Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), and Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos). Jessica holds two Master's degrees from NEC, in Opera and Voice Performance, where she graduated with honors in performance and academic distinction.

Jessica is the soprano soloist at All Saints Parish in Brookline, and performed in the memorial concert performance of the Faure Requiem last March. She is originally from San Diego, California.

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