Roger Cooper
 WILL-FM's classical music host, Roger Cooper,
wasn't a jock or a great scholar growing up in Evansville, Ind.
"I was a terrible book worm," he said. "My
brothers and sisters were outside playing in the neighborhood. But
my mother always knew where to find me--in the living room in the
big green chair, curled up with a book." Roger was shy and
didn't appreciate the nickname people gave him: "Little
Doctor Professor."
In a family of 12 kids where education wasn't emphasized, he
was different. So when his elementary school music teacher
encouraged him to take up a musical instrument, she threw him a
lifeline to an interest that would eventually encourage him to get
a college education, provide a career and a lifetime of enjoyment.
That first instrument was the mellophone, a kind of poor man's
French horn. His family laughed at it and called it a cowhorn, but
he persisted, and later switched to playing baritone and
euphonium.
"When I was a kid, next to the church, music was the
greatest influence in my life," says Roger. "It was my
interest in music that got me the attention of some of my
teachers. Because I got their attention, I got a little extra help
and encouragement. Then I learned to believe in myself enough to
go to college."
Those two early influences, the church and music were often in
conflict, however. "The church that I went to didn't allow
instrumentation," says Roger. "There was some vocal
music, but no instruments. I was always told that it was a sin. So
it was a conflict."
That's one of the reasons he switched from band to choir in
high school. He went on to attend the University of Evansville,
where he got his bachelor's degree in music education, played in
the band ("I discovered it wasn't a sin") and taught
voice to prep school students. After an English professor
suggested that Roger's voice was suited to radio announcing, Roger
went to work at the University of Evansville radio station where
he presented a weekly show of school recitals. A college course
introduced him to the music he loves best: opera. He discovered
the voices of sopranos Leontyne Price and Joan Sutherland, and
he's been an opera fan ever since.
Roger taught music in public schools for a few years, and then
decided in 1972 to attend graduate school at the University of
Illinois, with a goal of teaching voice at the college level. He
supported himself in school by working as a pastry cook first for
the old Century 21 Restaurant, and then for Jumer's.
"I've always liked to cook," says Roger. "I
learned to read at an early age by reading recipes out loud to a
church friend while she cooked." Whipping up delicacies like
a checkerboard fudge cake, she also taught him a lot about
cooking, and by the time he was 9, Roger was doing a lot of the
cooking for his family. And he still harbors a secret fantasy to
go to a culinary arts institute, and become a pastry chef.
But despite his dreams about teaching voice or becoming a
pastry chef, Roger continues to provide his splendid bass voice
and musical insights to WILL-FM listeners. "I'm working in
music, using my voice and my love of music. It's a different
aspect of music than I had planned, but it's related," says
Roger.
Roger began working at WILL as a programmer in 1978. A year
later, he became a classical music host, working the early morning
shift so he could attend classes in the afternoon. After many
years as the early morning host, Roger switched to afternoon host
(1-5 pm) in January 2001.
Roger's Classically Black
series about classically trained African-American musicians,
heard on public radio stations around the country, has earned him
a national reputation as a producer. He says he enjoys
taking a break from his daily music programs to produce another in
the series each year, and in addition, sees the series as a kind
of long-term outreach project. He wants to make everyone more
aware of the contributions of African Americans as musicians and
composers. "I always learn a lot, too," he said.
More on
the Classically Black series
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