Brendan Cooke was appointed General Director of OperaDelaware, America’s 11th oldest opera company, in June 2012. He joined OperaDelaware from the Baltimore Concert Opera, a company he founded in 2008 with the help of a talented group of colleagues in response to the collapse of the Baltimore Opera Company.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Loyola University in New Orleans and holds a Master’s degree in Opera Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he was a student of the world renowned bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk.
For several years, Brendan enjoyed the itinerant life of a professional opera singer before realizing that his true passion was to use his voice as an arts advocate and administrator. Brendan has overseen substantial growth at OperaDelaware, and the company’s new “fesitval” format has garnered international attention.
Brendan was honored to serve on the transition committee for Mayor Mike Purzycki focusing on the office of Cultural Affairs. A resident of North Wilmington, Brendan enjoys biking to work on the Northern Delaware Greenway then racing home (uphill) to spend time with his wife Julia, and their two boys, Gus and Rex.