Interview with Jessica Cooper, viola

The Lowell Chamber Orchestra is proud to feature Jessica Cooper, LCO’s principal viola, as a soloist in our upcoming December concert “String Virtuosity;” LCO sat down with Jess to ask about her musical life, and more.

1. What first drew you to the viola, and when did you realize it was your instrument?

I started playing the viola in my public school in second grade. We were given the option to play either violin, viola, or cello, and I knew that my parents had played the violin and cello as kids, so I of course wanted to choose the third, weirder option.

2. Is there a moment in your musical journey that changed you as an artist?

When I was between my freshman and sophomore year as an undergrad, I attended a music festival in Brazil with my teacher and one of my biggest mentors, Carlos Boltes. I had never been to a big festival before and being surrounded by beautiful music and inspiring musicians for a few weeks in a row made me realize that I couldn’t imagine music as a non-central part of my life. That’s when I really decided I wanted to pursue music professionally!

3. How would you describe your musical personality or style to someone hearing you for the first time?

People often associate the color purple with the sound of the viola. Whenever I pick up my viola, affectionately named Felix, I am most interested in exploring all the shades or purple that I can draw out of the instrument, from sweet fresh lilac to deep chocolatey violet.

4. What piece of music are you most excited to perform right now, and why does it speak to you?
I am most excited to perform Hindemith's Trauermusik for my first time with LCO in our upcoming concert! I love playing with LCO where I am surrounded by a group of truly talented and supportive colleagues, and am honored to be featured as a soloist. I am excited to be playing music by the king of viola composition himself, Paul Hindemith. While Hindemith composed and premiered Trauermusik in a single day upon learning King George V had died, I have gratefully had more than a day to get to know the piece and am more drawn to its deeply touching sound every day that I play it. For me, the piece really explores both the darkness of grief and the sunshine of nostalgia we feel when we lose a loved one.

5. Who are the musicians or artists—classical or otherwise—who inspire you the most?

My two favorite musical groups to listen to are the Danish String Quartet and Monsieur Periné. The musicians in both of these groups very convincingly combine many styles of music into their performances and also exude so much happiness from making music with the other people in their respective groups, which I find to be very inspiring.

6. What’s something audiences might be surprised to learn about you, either on or off the stage?

In addition to starting to play the viola when I was in second grade, I also started swimming competitively the same year and still do today! I am a proud member of the Worcester Area Masters team that trains at WPI, and we recently won first place in the small teams division at a competition with over 500 swimmers from around the Northeast. After spending the day at the pool for the competition, I performed in an all Mozart concert that evening, and needless to say, I slept very well that night!

7. What do you hope listeners feel or experience when they hear you perform?

One of the reasons that I love playing music without words is that it can mean many different things to many different people. I hope that my performance helps listeners feel whatever emotion that they are most drawn to in the moment.

8. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

I would like to dedicate my performance of Trauermusik to my late grandmother, Francine Cooper, who passed away earlier this year. She was not a musician, but she had a deep love for all performance arts and was one of my biggest musical supporters. I’m not sure if she ever heard this piece, but I think she would have loved it and I will definitely be thinking of her as I play.