Title: General Director
Workplace: OperaDelaware
Alma Maters: Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, Loyola Univerity of New Orleans
Board: Arts Consortium of Delaware
Best advice for your younger self? “Some day you are going to wake up and find that your seat is no longer at the “kids table,” and it will feel sudden to you. Trust that you’re experience is of value, and that you have a lot to offer in a room where decisions are being made.”
Brendan Cooke’s love of art runs deep, having launched the Baltimore Concert Opera in 2008 after the collapse of the Baltimore Opera Company with $700 in personal funds. He led that start-up company to exponential growth before joining the prestigious Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as group sales manager. In 2012, he moved to Wilmington to take over OperaDelaware, the 11th oldest opera company in the country. The classically trained opera singer has helped the Delaware company reach new heights through a new “festival” format that has garnered international attention. After leading through the COVID pandemic, Cooke emphasized the company’s “pop-up” performances with a mobile stage and has now put on more than 100 al fresco shows.
