A child prodigy, Minczuk was a professional musician by the age of 13. He was admitted into the prestigious Juilliard School at 14 and by the age of 16, he had joined the Orchestra Municipal de São Paulo as solo horn. During his Juilliard years, he appeared as soloist with the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts series. Upon his graduation in 1987, he became a member of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at the invitation of Kurt Masur. Returning to Brazil in 1989, he studied conducting with Eleazar de Carvalho and John Neschling. He won several awards as a young horn player, including the Mill Santista Youth Award in 1991 and I Eldorado Music. ●
Grant Cooper conductor The son of a soloist with the New Zealand Opera Company, Grant Cooper sang and acted in his first opera at age four and studied piano and music theory prior to college. After completing his degree in pure mathematics at the University of Auckland, he embarked on a performance career as an orchestral trumpet player, which led to a fellowship from the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council for study with Bernard Adelstein and Gerard Schwarz in the U.S. This was followed by performances in New York’s Carnegie Hall and at Tanglewood under Arthur Fiedler, where he also performed as principal trumpet under conductors Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and Sir Neville Marriner, among others.
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2021/22 Season / Volume 10 / No. 2
His initial opportunities as a conductor grew from his colleagues’ invitations to lead them in larger chamber ensemble performances. Since then, his many guest conducting engagements have included the Houston Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, and Syracuse Opera, among many others. Recent international debuts include the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic. Cooper was artistic director and conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra from 2001–2017, previously serving as resident conductor of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for 10 seasons. He currently serves as artistic director of the Bach and Beyond Festival in Fredonia, New York. A commissioned composer, Cooper is especially passionate about creating works designed to introduce young audiences to the orchestra. His concert works include A Song of Longing, Though …, for soprano and orchestra, which has received numerous performances in recent seasons. His ballet, On the Appalachian Trail, premiered at Chautauqua in 2010. Cooper has recorded for Delos International, Atoll, Ode, Mark, and Kiwi Pacific recordings, and has the unique distinction of having CD recordings of himself as conductor, performer, and composer, all currently available in the catalog. Cooper’s dedication to serving the West Virginia arts community was recognized in the spring of 2012 with his receiving the Governor’s Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts and with Fairmont State University conferring the degree of Doctor of Letters in 2017. He has been on the conducting faculty of Eastern Music Festival since 2013. ●
Photo by Megan Ward
ARTISTS .
Joan Zucker cello Joan Zucker was first heard by New Mexicans in the mid-seventies as Principal Cellist of the Orchestra of Santa Fe, and as an aspiring jazz cellist with the Johnny Gilbert Quartet. Since then, she has performed in many of New Mexico’s finest ensembles, from the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Opera to Sunday Chatter and the Placitas Artists Series. Joan became Principal Cellist of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in 1987, prior to becoming Principal of the New Mexico Philharmonic. She enjoys branching out these days: in her business “Cello to Go” playing informal house concerts followed by mini cello lessons for brave listeners; performing with the Celtic/folk/jazz quartet “Shepherd Moon”; and, most recently, performing with flamenco guitarist Juani de la Isla. Joan spent more than three years living in Venezuela, first performing with the Filarmonica de Caracas and then as soloist and Principal Cellist with the Filarmonica de Mérida. Her frequent televised performances with the Cuarteto Internacional met with high critical acclaim. Joan is a versatile musician who has taught extensively (cello, recorder, piano, voice, orchestra, chamber music, theory, composition, and improvisation), both privately and at institutions including U.C. Santa Cruz, Ithaca College, and UNM. She currently enjoys teaching cello students from age 6 to 86. A native New Yorker, she started playing cello because her family ensemble needed a bass instrument!
