The band rehearsal room at Arkansas Tech University’s Witherspoon Hall will henceforth be known as the Hal Cooper Sr. Band Hall in remembrance of the late professor emeritus of music at ATU.
“This wonderful recognition of our dear friend and colleague will be formally dedicated during the ATU Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert on Sept. 27,” said Dr. Daniel A. Belongia, ATU director of bands and professor of music. “I am thrilled that members of Professor Cooper’s family will join us in the ceremony, and hope that many of those who also loved him can be with us on this special day.”
Cooper was director of bands at Arkansas Tech University from 1979-2011. He was named ATU professor emeritus of music in 2013 and he received the highest honor the university may bestow upon an individual — induction into the ATU Hall of Distinction — in 2017.
The ATU Department of Music further immortalized his life’s work in November 2021 with the establishment of the Hal Cooper Repertoire Collection.
In fall 2025, Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center announced that remastered digital recordings from the Cooper era of “Arkansas’ Band of Distinction” had been created and shared online at https://orc.library.atu.edu/atu_band_cooper/index.html.
One of only five individuals to hold the title of director of bands during the more than 110-year tradition of instrumental music at Arkansas Tech, Cooper served as president of the Southwest Division of the College Band Directors National Association, president of Arkansas Phi Beta Mu and district governor of Kappa Kappa Psi college band service fraternity.
Cooper was named Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year in 1988, and he achieved membership in the American Bandmaster Association in 1992.
He died on April 15, 2026, following a brief illness. He was 81.
Memorials may be made to the Hal Cooper Repertoire Collection with checks payable to the ATU Foundation, P.O. Box 1105, Russellville, Ark., 72811, or online at http://www.atualumni.com/CooperMemorial.
