Phillip Cooke

Phillip Cooke’s Ave Maria, mater Dei, a response to William Cornysh’s setting of the same text that moves between a main SATB choir and off-stage trebles, was commissioned by the Genesis Foundation for The Eton Choirbook and its Legacy of Sacred Music. The programme featured four new commissions based on the iconic music manuscript, the Eton Choirbook, by Cooke, Sir James MacMillan, Marco Galvani and Joseph Phibbs. The world premiere of this programme was held in Eton College Chapel in May 2018, performed by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen. Cooke dedicated his piece to Sir James MacMillan.

On 2 November 2018, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen released Star of Heaven: The Eton Choirbook Legacy on their CORO label, which featured these Genesis Foundation commissions.

Phillip Cooke is a composer and lecturer. He has had works played across the country by many of the country’s top choirs and ensembles. He was artistic director of the London Contemporary Music Group (LCMG) from 2004-10, and wrote five works for them. Recent works were featured in the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music, Lake District Summer Music Festival (LDSM), Tête à Tête Opera Festival, Musica Sacrae (Poland), Sound Festival (Aberdeen), St Magnus Festival, The Cumnock Tryst and the John Armitage Memorial (JAM) concerts. In 2012 he was a winner of the ‘Musica Sacra International Composers Competition 2012’ which led to performances in Poland and Lithuania, in 2016 he won the Gesualdo Six Composition Prize for his motet Judas Mercator Pessimusand in 2017 his anthem For He is Our Peace won the Tenth Annual Anthem Competition in Worcester, Massachusetts.