Music Addition, MA062
Tenor Thomas Cooley is visiting associate professor of music in voice and historical performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
With an acclaimed international career spanning over two decades, Cooley is recognized for his vivid artistry and commanding performances across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. His appearances have taken him to more than 30 U.S. states and prestigious concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Vienna, Tonhalle Zürich, Walt Disney Hall, Tchaikovsky Hall Moscow, Kennedy Center, and Singapore’s Esplanade Hall.
Cooley has sung under the batons of renowned conductors including Helmuth Rilling, Donald Runnicles, Teodor Currentzis, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Franz Welser-Möst, Harry Bicket, Bernard Labadie, Osmo Vänskä, Dame Jane Glover, Robert Spano, Thomas Søndergård, Jaap van Zweden, and especially Nicholas McGegan, with whom he has collaborated more than 100 times.
His distinguished orchestral partnerships include the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Bavarian Radio Symphony, National Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Singapore Symphony, and Osaka Philharmonic.
Celebrated as a leading interpreter of Handel and J. S. Bach, especially in the role of the Evangelist, Cooley has appeared with the Thomanerchor Leipzig, Windsbacher Knabenchor, Dresdner Kreuzchor, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society, Tafelmusik, Boston Baroque, and MusicAeterna, and at the Göttingen and Halle Handel festivals.
He was a principal artist with the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich from 2002 to 2006 and has portrayed more than 35 operatic roles with institutions including the Bavarian State Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Mark Morris Dance Group, and Göttingen Händelfestspiele.
Cooley’s discography spans over 20 recordings on labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Carus, Sony, and Avie Records, which will release his upcoming St. Matthew Passion by Bach with Nicholas McGegan in 2026.