Hooper, John
Dr. John Hooper served as Professor and Director of the School of Music at Concordia University of Edmonton. In addition to conducting several choral and handbell ensembles, he taught conducting, choral technique, theory and aural skills, among others. Dr. Hooper established the handbell program at Concordia, having conducted the Concordia Handbell Ensemble and Jubiloso!, an auditioned community handbell choir which has twice performed at the Handbell Guilds of Canada’s biennial national convention, The Ringing Link. He was invited by the Handbell Guilds of Canada to be the Canadian conductor at the International Handbell Symposium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and in Osaka, Japan. He was also a featured conductor at the Handbell Ringers of Great Britain‘s National Residential Ringing Week the Handbell Ringers of Japan‘s National Festival, Hong Kong’s International Handbell Festival, Handbell Asia Festival in Malaysia, as well as the Ringing Link in London, Ontario, and Classic Bronze in Edmonton, Alberta.
He has written and arranged music for handbells, choirs, and other instruments. Several of his works have won the Fred Merrett Contest for New Compositions sponsored by the Alberta Guild of English Handbell Ringers, including Introspection, Intrada, Gathering, Toccata, and Agnus Dei. The latter two are published by From the Top Publishing. Passacaglia Chromatica was honoured by Portland, Oregon’s Bells of the Cascades in their Composition Contest. Toccata was the Canadian composition featured at the International Handbell Symposium in Liverpool, England and Gathering was performed by the Festival Choir at the International Handbell Symposium in Vancouver, B.C.
More information on Dr. Hooper can be found: http://jhooper.ca/
