About Cooper Band

Band program at NASA Artemis Presentation

 

Located in McLean, Virginia, the Cooper Band program features 180 amazing students in three concert ensembles, a jazz band, and percussion ensemble. Under the direction of Mr. Baker and Mrs. Singer, the Cooper Band has performed at the VMEA Conference in 2017 & 2022, and was the first Virginia middle school band to perform at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival in 2019 and again in 2025. They received the 2019 National Band Association Blue Ribbon Program of Excellence Southern Division Award. And in June of 2022, they were awarded the prestigious Sudler Silver Cup by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. This year, they were featured in three sessions at the 77th Midwest International Band Clinic in Chicago including the Rehearsal Lab with Corey Graves, MakeMusic session with Brian Balmages, and Demo band for Randall Standridge Publishing. 

The Cooper Bands have performed at the White House Easter “Egg Roll”, for NASA’s Artemis 1 launch, and clinics in Boston’s Symphony Hall and Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center. They actively join commissions and consortiums to increase amazing repertoire for middle school bands including:

  • Gradients (2017) by Andrew David Perkins, 2018 NBA/Alfred Publishing Young Band Composition Winner

  • Super (Em)Powers (2018)- Brian Balmages

  • Road to Nowhere (2021) - Craig Fitzpatrick

  • 70% More Explosive (2021) - Craig Fitzpatrick

  • (not)Alone (2022) - Randall Standridge

  • Appalachian Journey (Premiere at Sudler 2022) - Brant Karrick

  • The Artemis Generation (Premiere at Sudler 2022) - Doug Wallace, featured by NASA in Artemis 1 Launch.

  • Left of Boom (Premiere at Sudler 2022) - Andrew David Perkins

  • The Return of Spring (Premiere at Sudler 2022) - Carl Holmquist

  • Great Falls Fantasy (Premiere VMEA 2022) - Brant Karrick

  • Skeletonic (2022) - Andrew David Perkins

  • Climate Change for Percussion Ensemble (Premiere VMEA 2022) - Doug Wallace

  • Insomnia (2023) - Katie LaBrie

  • Fiddler’s Joy (Premiere at Midwest 2023) - Brant Karrick

  • Burn After Reading (Premiere at Midwest 2023) - Andrew David Perkins

  • Masquerade (2024) - Carol Brittin Chambers

  • All My Heart (2024) - Michael Markowski Consortium

  • Winds of Mars (2024) - Jennifer Rose Consortium

  • Ukrainian Folk Rhapsody (2025) - Johnnie Vinson

  • “Consortium” (2025) - John Mackey

  • “Commission” (2025) - Shelley Hanson