David Cooper

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:27:53 -0700

By day I’m a husband and father raising two beautiful daughters, living in the Glendora foothills, and a business attorney. By night, or at least Monday nights, I cut loose with LA’s finest chorale.
I have a music degree from UC Berkeley, class of ’93, and I was in the Houston Symphony Chorus for a couple of seasons. I’m a big fan of the modern tonal pieces, like Adams’ Transmigration. I’m also a closet Depeche Mode junkie, of which I just can’t get enough, or get the balance right.
I took my first voice lesson last year, on a lark while my older daughter was beginning with the piano. I found what was missing in my life. Here’s to many seasons with Jeff and the PMC! And, my house is always open for an extra sectional or two.

Carol Peterson

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:08:50 -0700

Once upon a time in a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area there was a young soprano who aspired to greatness as an opera singer. That was me a few decades ago. I studied voice through my four years at Capuchino High School in San Bruno, performed many of the arias in the Messiah, knocked myself out as Marian the Librarian in The Music Man, performed as a soloist whenever I could. I started my music major at UC Santa Barbara, where I had the great good fortune to play Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schichi. I decided after two years that I had neither the requisite talent nor dedication for greatness, and changed my major to Spanish. Instead of scaling back, I quit singing cold turkey...until March 2007. I saw the notice of an audition for the Occidental Master Chorale on my neighborhood blog, signed up for an audition and started taking voice lessons after an absence of a mere thirty-eight years. Bless Jeffrey Bernstein's heart. He took a
chance and two years later I still can't get over the fact that I am part of our amazing choir. How did I deny myself this joy for all that time? Being part of our reincarnation as the Pasadena Master Chorale is just too good to be true. I did, however, keep my day job. I have been an attorney for the Los Angeles County Public Defender for 21 years, and a Superior Court interpreter in Spanish prior to that as I worked on my law degree. Defense work is frequently quite theatrical, so my musical training stands me in good stead!

Meet the Members

David Cooper

Carol Peterson