Cooper Taylor

Cooper Taylor is a sophomore bassoon performance major at Arizona State University. Born in Glendale, Arizona, Cooper began bassoon lessons in 2018 and has since traveled across the country and the world to cultivate his musical knowledge, most notably performing in the 2023 Music For All Honor Band of America, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) Bassoon Workshop under Margaret Phillips (2023), and UNCSA’s Chamber Music Academy of Southern Germany under Saxton Rose (2022).

During the 2024 International Double Reed Society conference, Cooper presented the world premiere performances of two new bassoon quartets by Sergey Khvorostianov and Kincaid Rabb. He was also selected to participate in performance classes by Kristin Wolfe Jensen and Gina Moore.

At ASU, Cooper has enjoyed performing with the AZ Musicfest Orchestra and the Scottsdale Philharmonic. While in high school, Cooper performed in the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestras (PYSO) for four years, performing principal and second bassoon for their large orchestral works and ballets. During his participation in PYSO, Cooper placed third in their concerto competition, receiving the opportunity to attend the BUTI festival for free.

Outside of music, Cooper frequently lifts weights, reads nonfiction books, and plays ultimate frisbee. In the Spring of 2024, Cooper ran a Spartan 10k and finished in the top 15 percent of racers. He is an early-morning person and loves to be outdoors!