Ian Cooper (born 14 August 1970) is an Australian violinist. He was commissioned to compose and perform the "Tin Symphony" for the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney. The event was televised worldwide with an estimated 2.85 billion viewers. He performs many musical styles including classical,

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, Irish and

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and has appeared with Tommy Emmanuel, James Morrison,

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, Simon Tedeschi, Deni Hines, and

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Background

Cooper began learning the violin at age 4 from his mother Jan Cooper, a

Suzuki method The Suzuki method is a mid-20th-century music curriculum and teaching method created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. The method claims to create a reinforcing environment for learning music for young learners. Backgroun ...

violin teacher. He performed the Seitz Violin Concerto No. 2 Allegro Moderato at age 6 on the

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's 11AM program with

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. At age 7, Cooper performed concerts in the US and Canada, representing Australia at the Suzuki Violin World Conference. At age 8, he was awarded a scholarship to the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney where he studied with Christopher Kimber, Harry Curby and Laszlo Kiss. He was subsequently awarded a music scholarship to Knox Grammar School where he also studied drums and percussion. At age 10, a performance in Japan was broadcast on NHK Television. In 1990, Cooper was mentored by the French jazz violinist

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

. After performing with the guitarist Tommy Emmanuel at his invitation at the

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in 1992, Cooper joined Emmanuel on tour until 1997. Cooper has also been a member of trumpeter James Morrison's sextet since 2007.

Instruments

Cooper's main performing violin was made by E.H. Roth in Markneukirchen, Germany in 1926 and is modelled on an

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', a ...

1714 Cremona instrument. His preferred violin for recording was made by Glanville & Co. in Sydney and is based on a Guarneri violin. His electric violins are Epoch, David Guscott and E.F. Keebler.

Discography

* 1993 – ''Soundpost'' – with Ike Isaacs, Peter Inglis & Tim Rollinson * 1994 – ''Strings of Swing'' – with

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, Tom Baker & Ian Date * 1994 – ''Royal Flush'' – with Bernard Berkhout and Ian Date * 1994 – Marcia Hines - ''Right Here and Now'' * 1994 – Max Sharam - ''Coma'' * 1994 – Chocolate Starfish - ''Box'' * 1995 – ''Ian's World'' – with Tom Baker, Ian Date, Bernard Berkhout & John Morrison * 1995 – The Backsliders - ''Wide Open'' * 1995 – Tim Rogers & You Am I - ''Jewels & Bullets'' CD Single * 1995 – ''25th

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Jazz Festival Official CD'' with Fapy Lafertin & Ian Date * 1995 – Max Sharam - '' A Million Year Girl'' * 1996 –

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- ''Seventh Wave'' * 1996 –

- ''Freak Show'' * 1996 – ''At Home'' – with David Paquette * 1997 – ''Hard Axe to Follow'' – with Tommy Emmanuel,

Tommy Tycho Thomas Tycho AM MBE DMus (11 April 19284 April 2013) was a Hungarian-born Australian pianist, conductor, composer and arranger. He was active in both classical music and pop. He was associated with musical productions on Australian televisi ...

, George Golla & Ian Date * 1997 – The Nissan Cedrics - ''Going for a Song'' * 1997 – The Earthmen - ''Love Walked In'' * 1997 – John Morrison - ''Swingin' Upstairs'' * 1999 – The Backsliders - ''Poverty Deluxe'' * 2000 – The Games of the XXVII Olympiad 2000: Music from the Opening Ceremony CD & DVD * 2002 – ''Big Band'' – with James Morrison * 2002 – Geoff Achison - ''Chasing My Tail'' * 2005 –

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- ''I Remember When I Was Young: Songs from the Great Australian Songbook'' * 2007 – ''Simon Tedeschi & Ian Cooper'' – with Simon Tedeschi * 2007 – Deni Hines & James Morrison - ''The Other Woman'' * 2008 – Melinda Schneider - ''Be Yourself'' * 2008 –

- '' A Celebration in Song'' * 2008 – Deni Hines & James Morrison - ''The Other Woman – Live DVD'' * 2008 – Melinda Schneider - ''Hits & Rarities'' * 2009 – The Smokin' Crawdads - ''Straight to the Pool Room'' * 2009 – ''Ballads and Bossa Nova'' with James Morrison, Emma Pask, Jim Pennell, Steve Brien, Paul Cutlan & Phil Stack * 2009 – ''Quintet'' with Simon Tedeschi & James Morrison * 2010 –

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& James Morrison - ''Feels Like Spring'' * 2010 –

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- ''Purity of Essence'' * 2011 – Melinda Schneider - ''Life Begins at 40'' * 2012 –

- ''This Christmas'' * 2013 – Nathan Leigh Jones - ''I'll Be Home for Christmas'' * 2014 – Richard Ingham - ''A Return to Home'' * 2015 – ''Just Passing Through'' – with Tommy Emmanuel and Ian Date * 2015 – Emma Pask - ''Cosita Divina'' * 2015 – Mayhem 101 - ''Six Stars & the Union Jack'' * 2015 – Richard Ingham - ''Almost Wordless'' * 2016 – Melinda Schneider - ''Melinda Does Doris Again'' * 2020 – Qantas Airways - ''Qantas In-Flight Safety Video'' * 2020 – Husky - ''Go Don't Stop'' * 2022 – Cats in Space - ''Kickstart the Sun''

Awards and recognition

Ace Awards

(wins only) , - , 1999 , Ian Cooper , Instrumental Act of the Year , , - , 2000 , Ian Cooper , Instrumental Act of the Year , , - , 2016 , Ian Cooper , Instrumental Act of the Year , , -

Golden Fiddle Awards

(wins only) , - , 2005 , Ian Cooper , Best CD by a fiddler as soloist , , - , rowspan="2", 2006 , Ian Cooper , Best fiddler soloist , , - , Ian Cooper - ''Big Band'' , Best CD by a fiddler as soloist , , - , rowspan="2", 2014 , Ian Cooper , Best fiddler as a soloist , , - , Ian Cooper's International Spectacular , Best Band , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were last awarded in 2016. ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Ian Cooper won two awards in that time (wins only) , - , 1998 , Ian Cooper , Instrumental Performer of the Year , , - , 1999 , Ian Cooper , Instrumental Performer of the Year , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Ian 1970 births Living people Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Australian jazz musicians Male violinists Australian composers Musicians from Sydney 21st-century Australian violinists 21st-century Australian male musicians Australian male jazz composers People educated at Knox Grammar School