Nelson Ripley Cooke AM (21 December 1919 – 7 February 2018) was an Australian

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

who was principal cellist at the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

s during the 1950s and 1960s.

Career

Cooke was born in

Bellbird, New South Wales Bellbird is a town and locality in the City of Cessnock in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia ( ...

, Australia. He began playing the cello aged 8, having previously been a piano player. At one time, he was taught by

Jascha Gopinko Jascha Gopinko (15 December 1891 – 4 July 1980), born in Ukraine and later resident in Australia, was a violinist, conductor and teacher of string instruments. Life Gopinko was born in 1891 near Mogilev in Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empi ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Cooke served in the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

, during which time he visited Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In 1949, Cooke travelled to the UK to be taught by

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

. In 1970, he became principal cellist for the

Florida Orchestra The Florida Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the tri-city area of Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida. It was founded as the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony upon the 1968 merger of the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the T ...

. He later became head of strings at the

Canberra School of Music The ANU School of Music is a school in the Research School of Humanities and the Arts, which forms part of the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the Australian National University. It consists of four buildings, including the main School of ...

, and in the 1990s, he worked as a music teacher at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. In 1988, Cooke founded the Riverina Summer School for Strings. Cooke retired from playing the cello at the age of 90. In 2011, Cooke was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in the

New Years Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Nelson 1919 births 2018 deaths Australian classical cellists London Symphony Orchestra players Players of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Members of the Order of Australia Musicians from New South Wales Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom University of South Florida faculty Academic staff of the University of Melbourne