Cooper Wood (b. 1999) is a graduate student at The Ohio State University studying composition with Vera Stanojevic, Thomas Wells, and formerly, Jan Radzynski. Prior to graduating high school, he studied composition and theory with Matthew Saunders at Lakeland Community College. He has had three performances of his works: Chorale, Overture for the Stars, and Parting, by the concert bands of Madison Local School District, and received a commission for a new work by the Lakeland Civic Orchestra in 2016. In addition, his piano trio, Ghost Interlude, was selected as the winner of the Cleveland Composers Guild Young Composers Contest in 2017.
At the collegiate level, his work has been performed on concerts at The Ohio State University, Cedarville University, Bowling Green State University and UCLA. Highlights of these performances include world premieres of solo, chamber, and orchestral works, four short film scores, and incidental music to a stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Most recently, his Sonata for Trumpet and Piano was selected to be performed on the New Works Recital at the 2022 International Trumpet Guild Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
From 2014 to 2017, Cooper served as the Resident Youth Musical Director for the nationally awarded Mercury Theater Company at Notre Dame College, and currently plays piano in various ensembles ranging from jazz to musical theater. For their 2019-2020 season, Cooper was appointed Composer-in-Residence with the Ohio State Symphony, and formerly served as the Pit Orchestra Director for Off the Lake Productions. He currently serves as president of the OSU New Music Collective and as a Graduate Teaching Associate for the Theory area at Ohio State, instructing courses in Aural Training, Music Theory, and previously, Counterpoint.