Diane Cooper (4)

Born on 11 October, 1960, Dianne Cooper was a talented musician whose career as principal keyboard player with the NZSO was cut short in the late 1990s by the brain tumour that eventually killed her. Having come from a musical family, Cooper began learning the piano at seven. Judith Clark was Cooper's piano teacher, first at Wellington Girls' College and then at Victoria University. Here, Cooper completed a BMus in composition, and also learned the clarinet and viola. Her musical life aside, Cooper's hobbies included flying and motorbikes. Cooper died in Wellington, on 25 October, 2005.