Katie Cooke

PhD Student in Ethnomusicology

Born right next door to Columbia at St. Luke’s Hospital, Kathryn (Katie) Minyoung Cooke is an alumnus of Columbia College where she graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s in Music and a Special Concentration in Educational Studies through Barnard College. In her senior year, she received Music Departmental Honors for her thesis "The Ministry of Love: An Exploration of Turkish Contemporary Christian Music" advised by Aaron Fox. After graduation, Katie spent two years in Ankara, Türkiye creating and participating in safe spaces of language learning, music performance, and religious discussion for college students. Upon returning to New York in 2021, Katie taught music to the youngest learners at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn.

As a PhD student, Katie is looking forward to continuing her research in different practices of Christian Congregational Worship Music such as Contemporary Worship Music in modern-day Türkiye and among second-generation Asian Americans. Katie also finds deep joy in teaching students to understand and appreciate the world around them through music.

On top of her academic pursuits, Katie directs musical worship for multiple ministries and churches in the greater New York area, composes worship music, and illustrates web comics.

Columbia Degrees: 
BA, Columbia College
2019