Alyse Smith Cooper Music Scholarship

The following biography was written at the time of this scholarship establishment; some information may not be up to date:

Alyse Smith Cooper was born on August 14, 1909. She was a Burlington, North Carolina native. She was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Marvin B. Smith. She was married to Wilbur N. Cooper. Alyse used her talents and resources to further the arts in Alamance County and across the Piedmont. She was broadly educated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Duke University, a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and a master’s degree in English from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York. She turned her talents to music and education.

For many years, Cooper was the organist at the Front Street United Methodist Church in Burlington. A member of the American Guild of Organists, she served as the president of the Burlington Music Club and on the executive board of the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs.

Cooper devoted much of her personal time and resources to higher education and the support of music training. Students at UNCG, Elon College, and Duke University are the beneficiaries of her commitment to the arts.

She died on February 28, 2002.