Christopher Cooley

Opera Coach
Brooklyn College Conservatory

Pianist Christopher Cooley has concertized with numerous instrumental and vocal soloists in five continents, as well as Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall.  As a soloist, he has played with the University of Texas Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Florida, and the Musica Bella Orchestra of New York.  As a collaborative pianist, he has served on the staff of numerous summer opera festivals in Italy, Germany, and Austria, as well as the Castleton Festival in Virginia, the Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists in L.A., and the Manhattan School of Music Summer Voice Festival.  Chris has enjoyed a wide variety of musical activities as a freelance accompanist, cocktail pianist, organist, arranger, and composer in and around New York City for over 25 years. Recent projects include a workshop of Sheila Silver’s new opera "A Thousand Splendid Suns”; a summer tour of Europe including performances in Sweden, Lithuania, and Italy; a Broadway-themed dinner cruise for Hornblower Cruises, for which he arranged the music; and the Paper Mill Playhouse (NJ) New Voices Concerts, a summer musical theater program for which he has served as pianist and arranger for over 10 years.  He recently returned to the U.S. after spending a year working at a theater in Lithuania, where he coached opera singers and played rehearsals and concerts.  Chris is currently an adjunct vocal coach and accompanist at Brooklyn College-Conservatory.  He holds degrees from Florida State University, the University of Texas at Austin, and a doctorate in Collaborative Piano from the Manhattan School of Music.