Composer L. Alexander Cooper has been studying and perfecting his classical music interests since age 5, beginning in his hometown of Rochester, Minn., and continuing three decades later in Jacksonville, Fla.

Cooper’s first foray into music in 1999 began via classical piano lessons with Dr. Horacio Nuguid through his teenaged years. That led to an elevated course of study at the University of Iowa as a piano performance major under the tutelage of Dr. Ksenia Nosikova and a bachelor’s degree in Music in 2018. Through that educational effort, Cooper developed an interest in composing music by studying counterpoint on his own time in addition to taking formal classes in music theory and orchestration.

He has also taken private composition lessons with Emmy Award-winning composer Stephen Cohn for the past few years and participated in an orchestration course at Berklee College of Music in 2020. He has performed twice at the Schlern Music Festival in Vols Am Schlern, Italy, and placed as a finalist at the Dorian Music Festival in Decorah, Iowa. His notable compositional works include “Waking Dream” for orchestra, “Permutations” for string quartet  and “Rhythmic Colors” for string quintet among works for various ensembles ranging from solo works to full orchestral pieces. His style combines traditional tonal harmonies and structural arrangements with a distinct sound that has been described as following a thematic storyline, with approachable yet provocative ideas and emotional language.

His music has been performed in multiple venues by Jacksonville’s San Marco Chamber Music Society. He was recently commissioned for two pieces to be performed by the San Marco Chamber Music Society and Florida Chamber Music Society, Northeast Florida’s foremost chamber music ensembles.

“Rhapsody for Robin,” performed for the first time by the San Marco Chamber Music Society, is completed in honor of Robin Berenberg. With a passion for the arts.

“Acoustic Analog,” a piece for string quartet, commissioned for the Florida Chamber Music Project in commemoration of chamber music supporter Ken Hecht’s father and mother who were pioneers in the audio reproduction industry and is titled as such in their memory.