Artist Info

Ted Cooper is a piano teacher and a composer of educational music for the piano. During a 40-year teaching career, he has taught beginners to advanced students. Before moving to Vienna, he was a faculty member at the Levine School of Music in Washington, DC, where he maintained a studio for 18 years. From 1989 to 2003 he was a faculty member and then Director of the New School for Music Study, founded by Frances Clark in Princeton, New Jersey.

​

Ted's interest in composing grew out of his teaching and the need for effective and musical repertoire for his students. His compositions are published by Alfred Publishing Company and Carl Fischer Music and included on the festival lists of the National Federation of Music Clubs and the Music Teachers Association of California.

​

His most recent compositions—Clash of the Sabers, Noche del Gitano and Around the World on 88 Keys, Books 1 and 2—are published by Alfred, as is a four-volume series of duets for student and teacher titled Side by Side, co-authored with Amy Glennon. Ted is a member of ASCAP.

​

Ted is a frequent conference speaker. He has presented at the Music Teachers National Association Conference and at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. Videotapes of his teaching have been featured at both conferences. A review of his teaching from the NCKP can found by clicking here. Ted has presented at state and local conferences in the United States.

​

As an author, he has contributed articles to Keyboard Companion Magazine, and has served as educational consultant for the Frances Clark Library for Piano Students. He is a recipient of the Group Piano Teaching Award presented by the Music Teachers National Association and the National Piano Foundation.

​

Ted earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Western Illinois University, where he studied pedagogy with Ann Collins. He also earned a Professional Teaching Certificate with distinction from the New School for Music Study, where he was a student of Frances Clark and Louise Goss. 

​