Jim Cockey - Award winning composer working with the musicians on the Music from the Fringe Project
Take a vial and to a base of Copland, add a dash of Bernstein and Ives, a bit of Stephen Foster and Native American flute, heat gently over a Stravinsky flame to add a little rhythmical punch, cover with a thin layer of Moody Blues.
Jim Cockey was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but has spent most of his life in Idaho. He holds a composition degree from the University of Oregon where he studied with Homer Keller and Hal Owen. He has received numerous grants, commissions and honors, including a gold album for his work with members of the Moody Blues, and the Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Commissions include works for the Boise Philharmonic, Billings Symphony, Carson City Symphony, Boise Baroque Orchestra, Idaho Department of Education, Hammerhead Consort, Jen Drake, Bill Quist, Keith Young, Bunting Dance, Idaho Dance Theatre, Langroise Trio, Darkwood Consort, and the Hyde Park Chamber Players. For the Composers Forum’s Continental Harmony project, Jim Cockey was the only musician chosen to head two projects simultaneously: conducting the McCall Chamber Orchestra and composing a work for the Carson City Symphony. In April of 2008, Mr. Cockey was selected by Maestro James Ogle to compose a special work in honor of Maestro Ogle’s 20 years of service with the Boise Philharmonic. The Gift of the Elk, aSuite for Native American Flute and Orchestra was premiered by Grammy nominee Joseph FireCrow and the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra in April of 2010. “Ithica,” as performed by the Langroise Trio, was aired on NPR’s Performance Today. Jim is presently writing his first opera, Odysseus, to be premiered by Opera Idaho in 2014 or 2015. Bernadine Cockey, award-winning playwright, is writing the libretto. Jim also has upcoming commissions with the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra, Boise Baroque Orchestra, and the Idaho Dance Theatre.
www.jimcockey.com
Jim Cockey was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but has spent most of his life in Idaho. He holds a composition degree from the University of Oregon where he studied with Homer Keller and Hal Owen. He has received numerous grants, commissions and honors, including a gold album for his work with members of the Moody Blues, and the Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Commissions include works for the Boise Philharmonic, Billings Symphony, Carson City Symphony, Boise Baroque Orchestra, Idaho Department of Education, Hammerhead Consort, Jen Drake, Bill Quist, Keith Young, Bunting Dance, Idaho Dance Theatre, Langroise Trio, Darkwood Consort, and the Hyde Park Chamber Players. For the Composers Forum’s Continental Harmony project, Jim Cockey was the only musician chosen to head two projects simultaneously: conducting the McCall Chamber Orchestra and composing a work for the Carson City Symphony. In April of 2008, Mr. Cockey was selected by Maestro James Ogle to compose a special work in honor of Maestro Ogle’s 20 years of service with the Boise Philharmonic. The Gift of the Elk, aSuite for Native American Flute and Orchestra was premiered by Grammy nominee Joseph FireCrow and the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra in April of 2010. “Ithica,” as performed by the Langroise Trio, was aired on NPR’s Performance Today. Jim is presently writing his first opera, Odysseus, to be premiered by Opera Idaho in 2014 or 2015. Bernadine Cockey, award-winning playwright, is writing the libretto. Jim also has upcoming commissions with the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra, Boise Baroque Orchestra, and the Idaho Dance Theatre.
www.jimcockey.com