Arnold Cooke...

,,,was born in Gomersal, West Yorkshire, on this day in 1906.  Cooke developed an interest in music at an early age, and in 1933, was appointed a professor at the the Royal Manchester College of Music.

Cooke soon acquired a reputation as a promising composer, and at one of the London Promenade Concerts in 1934, his Concert Overture No. 1 was conducted by Sir Henry Wood.   After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, Cooke returned to London to continue his musical career.  He was a founder member of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain, and until his retirement, was Professor of Harmony and Composition at London's  Trinity College of Music.

Arnold Cooke died in Five Oak Green, Kent, on 13th August, 2005.

Cooke was a fairly prolific composer, composing two operas, a ballet, a number of choral and vocal works, and a large catalogue of orchestral works.  Here is his Bassoon Sonata.