I am a composer, sound engineer and technician based in Glasgow, Scotland. My composition work has become increasingly collaborative and I compose and perform live electronics with Haptic and a cellar full of noise.
What they’ve said about:
Labyrinth:
‘the dynamic and dramatic cello part surrounded by a wealth of fantastical granular and spectral resonances’ Jury for the Royal Musical Associations 2023 Tippett Medal for composition
Micrographia: Observations of Fiery Sparks
‘Multi-channel madness’ Martin Parker
‘The timbre trumpeter Tom Poulson, tubist Danielle Price, and live electronics whiz Timothy Cooper create together is otherworldly… the sound of the two brass instruments and electronics is dazzling, but the trio also breaks into smaller units depending on the piece, so we get swirling chorales, virtuosic trumpet fed through kaleidoscopic electronics, amorphous electro-blobs, woven voice and tuba, and more, all marked by invention and a seriously connected rapport between the players.’ Peter Margasak
‘Never have trumpet, tuba and electronics sounded so imaginative and so magical… This is a terrific disc, full of sounds and textures. I listened to it cold at first, and frankly had no idea what I was listening to, such was the magic the three performers create.’ Robert Hugill
‘Timothy Cooper combines a sensitivity to elegance with an ear for the exotic.’ Gareth Vile
‘…the simple joys of curiosity and play were self-evident in Timothy Cooper’s Mechanical… This was quite the crowd-pleaser, bringing out a seemingly endless enthusiasm for the fun, quirky and delightful.’ Gregor Forbes
Electronics performance for Lisa Illean’s An Acre Ringing, Still with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
‘That the electronic dimension was so subtly embedded within the textures as to be barely perceptible is a positive observation.’ Ken Walton
Recent News (January 2025):
My work Labyrinth – for baroque cello and electronics – made in collaboration with the extraordinary Lucia Capellaro has been awarded the Royal Musical Associations prize for composition, the Tippett Medal. This was equal parts surprise and delight, the creative process for this work was over 12 months, and Lucia and I worked really closely on it. The work was funded by the Research Degrees Committee at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Without the support of The Night With… as I began my work with Ensemble 1604 the piece simply wouldn’t have happened in the form it did.
Hear Labyrinth here:
The end of 2023 was really exciting, in November my album with Ensemble 1604, Shadows that in Darkness Dwell, was released on the TNW Music label. Then in December we premiered the complete show at The Night With Festival. This project was a huge undertaking and wouldn’t have been the same without my amazing colleagues Lucia Capellaro, Laszlo Rozsa, Alex McCartney and Rory McCleery. It also simply would not have happened at all without the support of The Night With… and in particular artistic director Matthew Whiteside who co-produced the album with me. Big thanks to all!
At the start of February I had a fantastic project with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth, performing electronics for Lisa Illean’s An Acre Ringing, Still. I thought Lisa’s piece was stunning. The electronics part was quite tricky, but good fun to do. Keep an eye (ear!) out for broadcasts of the concerts in Glasgow and Aberdeen on BBC Radio 3. It was great to work with Alison Rhynas the amazing Senior Technical Producer who leads on recording the concerts and David Johnson who ran front of house sound.
From December 2023-September 2024 I will be the Susan Manning Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh. During my time there I will be working on a new composition for Ensemble 1604, made in response to Robert Hooke’s treatise on observations made through microscope and telescope lenses, Micrographia. I am very excited to work with my wonderful colleagues László, Rory, Lucia and Alex again with Emma Lloyd joining us.
In January I took up a new post at Edinburgh College of Art where I am one of two Specialist Technicians in Music and Sound. It has been a big adjustment away from RCS which was my principle place of work for 10 years, but I’m enjoying fantastic new colleagues and excellent music technology facilities.
In June 2023 I was awarded my PhD in composition by the University of St Andrews having studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with my wonderful supervisors, Prof. Alistair MacDonald and Dr Diana Salazar. You can find the PhD work at the St Andrew’s repository here.
Upcoming performances:
- 7th Jan 2026 – RMA/BFE Student Conference – Keynote – performance of Labyrinth with Lucia Capellaro and conversation with Chris Cresswell and Edmund Hunt about my work @ Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
- 23rd Jan 2026 – The Night With… Haptic and Stef Conner – Aberdeen, Anatomy Rooms doors @ 18:00. Including performances of Labyrinth and Observations of Fiery Sparks (world premiere)
- 25th Jan 2026 – The Night With… Haptic and Stef Conner – Glasgow, Civic House doors @ 19:30. Including performances of Labyrinth and Observations of Fiery Sparks (world premiere)
- 31st Jan 2026 – The Night With… Haptic and Stef Conner – Edinburgh, Fruitmarket Gallery Warehouse doors @ 19:30. Including performances of Labyrinth and Observations of Fiery Sparks (world premiere)
- 10th Feb 2026 – After Hours: László Rózsa performing Observations of Fiery Sparks and a new piece devised by László exploring madrigrals.
Recent Composition Work:
Timothy Cooper 