John E. Cooke is a retired board-certified Emergency Medicine physician. He moved to the Atlanta area in 1973. John grew up in West Virginia, receiving his BS and MD degrees there. He was drafted into the Vietnam war as a general medical officer and served one year in SE Asia during the war.

John cannot read a note of music, but he listens 4 to 6 hours every day starting at 5:30 AM. He has an eclectic taste in music including classical, jazz, R&R, Bossa Nova, and opera. He enjoys gardening, riding motorcycles, travel, entertaining friends, and movies. He and his wife Linda have two sons- one in Portland OR and the other in Marietta. Their granddaughter is a senior at KSU. In addition to Emory, he supports KSU and Georgia Symphony, including providing 12 music scholarships at KSU.

He writes “I feel honored to be asked to serve on the Chamber Music Board of Directors.  As we all know, classical music is under intense pressure from other forms of music and arts. We need to ensure that this beautiful music is given to the next generations. I will offer my dedication to do so to the Board. I believe that we support this music by financial contributions and attending the concerts. I look forward to working with the other Board members.”