University News

WIU Jazz Director's Composition in Competition Finals; Vote Online

June 18, 2008

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MACOMB, IL - - "This Little Light of Mine," a hard swinging shuffle by John Cooper, director of jazz studies for the Western Illinois University School of Music, is among six works to make the Chicago entries finals in the 2008 Lighten the Load Inspirational Gospel Music contest.

The finals include 42 entries - - six from each of the seven national Be Sickle Smart participating cities. The national competition raises awareness for Sickle Cell disease. Online voting for Cooper's entry is at www.askaboutiron.com. Click on the 2008 Gospel Contest box, click on View, Listen & Vote and scroll down to the Chicago entries. Online voting will end at midnight Thursday, July 31.

Online voting will determine one-third of the final score for each submission, according the gospel contest website. The votes of music ministers and a panel of music industry professionals also will carry one-third votes each.

"This Little Light of Mine" is the underlying theme of Cooper's first worship CD, the "Baecker Jazz Worship Service," which he composed on commission by Western Illinois alumni Garth and Terry Baecker of Pekin (IL) to commemorate the golden anniversary of the founding of the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 2007, featuring the UCC anniversary theme "Let it Shine."

Cooper wrote the seven-movement composition that is integrated into a worship service specifically for Western's JSO, which presented the work at the UCC celebration service April 21, 2007 at the First Federated Church of Peoria. It has been performed several times since then at various venues in Illinois and in Detroit, where trumpeter Cooper played professionally.

In October 2007, Cooper chose "some of the best players in the world" to form the John Cooper Jazz Orchestra and record the "This Little Light of Mine" CD. The disc is available at CDBaby.com, www.payplay.cd, www.cdconnection.com and at www.baeckermusic.citymax.com.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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