Bio

Professor Megan Cooney serves as Director of Athletic Bands, Assistant Band Director, and Instructor of Percussion Studies at St. Ambrose University. She conducts the university Pep Band and is heading the establishment of the St. Ambrose University Marching Band. Additionally, she teaches applied percussion lessons, percussion methods, and undergraduate conducting courses.

Cooney is a native of New Jersey and earned her B.M. in Instrumental Music Education from Rowan University in 2011 with a concentration in percussion performance. While at Rowan she studied conducting with Lieutenant Commander Dr. John Pastin and percussion performance with Professor Dean Witten.

In 2014 Cooney earned her M.M. in Wind Conducting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; studying under the mentorship of Dr. James Patrick Miller. During her graduate degree she continued her study of percussion performance and contemporary music with Professor Ayano Kataoka. For over seven years Cooney has held professional teaching and staff appointments with athletic band programs across the country, including the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band under the leadership of Director Dr. Timothy Anderson.

From 2014 to 2015 Professor Cooney served as the Director of Bands and Head of Instrumental Music at Luther North College Prep in Chicago, Illinois. During her time in Chicago she was also a music instructor with the globally recognized organization, El Sistema Ravinia. From 2015 to 2016 Cooney served as Percussion Director for the Williamstown Band of Spirit in Williamstown Kentucky; instructing marching percussion, chamber ensembles, percussion methods, and private lessons.

In 2015, Cooney was named a conducting fellow with the Cortona Sessions for New Music where she directed three world premiere performances. During her time at UMass she was nominated for the UMass Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest award given at the university for teaching faculty or graduate students. While at Rowan University she received the W. Clarke Pfleeger Award for Musical Excellence. Cooney is also a member of the nationally recognized music organization Sigma Alpha Iota.