Composers

Barbara Cooke

1921 - 2017

About

Barbara Logan Cook was a pianist, arranger, producer, teacher and mentor. She studied piano and liberal arts at Fisk University, and subsequently attended the Juilliard School of Music. She taught for many years at Hampton University, and was professor of piano and music appreciation at North Carolina Central University. In 1947, she founded and maintained one of Durham, North Carolina’s most successful piano studios for over fifty years, with many of her students having professional performance and recording careers following their time in her studio. As a composer, Barbara Cooke wrote vocal and instrumental arrangements of Negro Spirituals, bringing together both her classical and traditional performance roots. She was honored at a historic event at White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, “Glory to God: Sacred Music by African American Women”, and by the North Carolina Centennial Commission in “A Salute To Black Cultural Artists”.

Related Information

Works by Barbara Cooke

Title Collection Voice Type Range Poet
Dere's No Hiding Place Voice D4 - B5 Biblical
I Want Jesus to Walk With Me Voice C4 - Ab5 Biblical
My God is So High Voice F4 - C6 Biblical
This Little Light of Mine Voice F4 - A5 Biblical
Wade In De Water Voice A3 - A5 Biblical
Composer Title Work Instrumentation Level Number of Movements Accompanied Size Duration Range
Barbara Cooke Fix Me Jesus Piano, Cello 1 Yes Solo
Barbara Cooke I Want Jesus to Walk With Me Piano, Flute 1 Yes Solo
Barbara Cooke I've Been 'Buked Piano, Violin 1 Yes Solo
Barbara Cooke Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley Piano, Cello, Bass 1 Yes Solo
Barbara Cooke Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child Piano 1 No Solo
Barbara Cooke Wade in de Water Piano, Flute 1 Yes Solo