Laurier Alumna Samantha M. Cooper (BMus '16) Receives Prestigious Award

July 10, 2024

Congratulations to Laurier alumna Samantha M. Cooper, BMus '16, whose dissertation received the 2024 Wiley Housewright Award for best dissertation in the field of American music studies from the Society for American Music.

Since graduating from Laurier with her Honours Bachelor of Music in Music History, Samantha has gone on to complete her MA, MPhil, and PhD at New York University in Historical Musicology, and has held positions at a number of institutions including the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, NYU, and the City College of New York. Samantha's winning dissertation is titled "Cultivating High Society: American Jews Engaging European Opera in New York, 1880-1940."

Reflecting on her time at Laurier, Samantha shared:

"The most formative relationships from my time in the Laurier Music Faculty were those I shared with Dr. Terry Paynter, Dr. Alma Santosuosso, Dr. Kirsten Yri, James McLean, and the late Dean Carruthers, all of whom supported my aspiration to continue my studies in graduate school. I was also privileged to work with an inspiring cohort of colleagues, and I continue to be grateful for having had the opportunity to study in the Laurier Music Faculty."

We are incredibly proud of Samantha's achievements and her contributions to the field of musicology.