Alec Cooper is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and co-director of The Sitar Project (Scotland).

After completing a BA in composition at Berklee College of Music, and a Mmus at the University of Surrey, he became increasingly interested in Indian music and culture. Eventually he decided to engage in serious and long-term study of the sitar with his guru Debashish Sanyal, and carry out a doctoral research on the musical connectivity between sitar and tabla performers. He will be submitting his thesis in October 2016.

As co-director of the sitar project (together with Laurence Howells) he aims to promote Indian music in Scotland by developing workshops, offering private lessons, and organising concerts. Alec has also been running sitar workshops at the University of Edinburgh for the past two years, and has recently organised a trip to India with several students in order for them to learn from his guru in Varanasi.

Alec’s Experience:

  • 09/2014 to present: Tutor of Practical Music Workshops course at University of Edinburgh
  • 01/2013 to present: Teacher at ”˜The Sitar Project’
  • 15/05/2016: One day sitar workshop as part of the ”˜Festival of Museums’, Edinburgh
  • 02/12/2013 and 12/01/2015: One day sitar workshop at RCS (Glasgow)
  • 09/2012 to 10/2016: PhD in music at University of Edinburgh (UK)
  • 09/2007 to 08/2008: Master degree in Musicology at the University of Surrey (UK)
  • 09/2003 to 08/2006: Bachelor degree in Composition at Berklee College of Music (USA)