Counterpoint  Music Library - Composer Information

DONALD COAKLEY, a native of Cambridge, Ontario, has been for twenty years the Assistant Co-ordinator of Music for the Scarborough Board of Education. As such, he has been primarily responsible for the development of the instrumental programme in the Scarborough public schools. His musical education took place in the United States; he holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York, in Potsdam, New York; Master of Music Education from the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Master of Music in Composition and Performance from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. In the latter instance, Mr. Coakley was a student of the American composer Vincent Persichetti. Many of his compositions reflect his commitment to music education and are directed toward the capabilities of student ensembles on the elementary, secondary, and university levels. Mr. Coakley has received numerous commissions from performing organizations in both Canada and the United States. All traditional performing media are reflected in the Coakley catalogue; concert band, full orchestra, string orchestra, chamber ensembles, and choir. Lyric Essay for Band has been recorded by the Edmonton Wind Ensemble; and a recent choral work, Three Nativities, was one of four scores, from over two hundred submissions, selected by Melodious Accord for performance in December 1992 in New York, under the direction of Alice Parker. As an undergraduate, Mr. Coakley was the recipient of two Presser Foundation Scholarships, and a nominee for a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. In 1977, he received the Distinguished Service to Public Education Award from The State University of New York. As well as being an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre, Donald Coakley is a member of the Canadian League of Composers, and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. Visit our collection of Donald Coakley's works