Don Cook (Organist)
Encyclopedia
R. Don Cook is the organ area coordinator and the university carillonneur at Brigham Young University
(BYU).
Cook has bachelor and masters degrees in organ from BYU. He has a DMA from the University of Kansas
. Prior to joining the BYU faculty he was an organist at Christ Church, Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
and at First United Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas
.
Cook developed the Organ Tutor: Organ 101 program, a multi-media program that has been used to teach organ in multiple countries. His course plans were also used as the basis for a program began in 2003 at the University of Utah
.
Cook has been a member of the BYU faculty since 1991. He has directed the BYU Organ Workshop since its founding in 2002.
Besides being the official player of the Bell Tower at BYU, Cook was also involved with selecting the bell used in the old Brigham Young Academy building when it was refurbished into the Provo City Library at Academy Square. His playing of the Bell Tower at BYU has been featured as part of Provo's Freedom Festival. Many of the works Cook plays on the BYU carillon are his own compositions.
Cook and his wife Kim live in Spanish Fork, Utah
. They are the parents of six children.
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU).
Cook has bachelor and masters degrees in organ from BYU. He has a DMA from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. Prior to joining the BYU faculty he was an organist at Christ Church, Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
and at First United Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
.
Cook developed the Organ Tutor: Organ 101 program, a multi-media program that has been used to teach organ in multiple countries. His course plans were also used as the basis for a program began in 2003 at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
.
Cook has been a member of the BYU faculty since 1991. He has directed the BYU Organ Workshop since its founding in 2002.
Besides being the official player of the Bell Tower at BYU, Cook was also involved with selecting the bell used in the old Brigham Young Academy building when it was refurbished into the Provo City Library at Academy Square. His playing of the Bell Tower at BYU has been featured as part of Provo's Freedom Festival. Many of the works Cook plays on the BYU carillon are his own compositions.
Cook and his wife Kim live in Spanish Fork, Utah
Spanish Fork, Utah
Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 31,497 as of the 2008 census estimate.-History:Spanish Fork was settled by LDS pioneers in 1851...
. They are the parents of six children.
Sources
- Salt Lake City American Guild of Organist bio of Cook
- BYU bio
- LDS Church News March 14, 2009 article about Cook's organ endeavors
- Mormon Times 22 March, 2010 article about Cook's efforts to teach organ on a broad scale
- BYU Magazine Spring 2009 article about Cook's playing the bells at BYU
- June 28, 2007 Deseret News article about BYU's carrillon
- USA Today Dec. 13, 2004