July 7, 2026

As a high school student in Washington, DC, Julius Boxer-Cooper ’26 was a driven and determined student most interested in music. He had been playing the flute since age 5 and had added the drum kit at 16. 

But, he admits, “I hadn’t really pulled it together. Try as I might, high school was a comedy of errors for me. Since coming to Bennington, I have been able to channel my ambition a bit better.”

Bennington was not initially on his list of schools. 

“My dad found it while flipping through the Fiske guide. He said, ‘This tiny school in Vermont looks like they have some courses you would be interested in.’” 

He soon learned about Bennington’s famous academic freedom and interdisciplinary Plan process. Coming to campus for Admitted Students Day, meeting the faculty members, and seeing the “gorgeous” campus sealed it. 

“I am a geographically sensitive person. The terrain, architecture…. That is one of my favorite things about Bennington,” he said. “I love how the architecture interacts with the landscape.”

While he knew immediately after meeting them at Admitted Students Day that he wanted to study with the faculty members at Bennington; the relationships he has since made with faculty members were even more influential than expected. Faculty members Michael Wimberly (Music), Allen Shawn (Music), Tom Leddy-Cecere (Linguistics), and Ginger Lin (Chinese) all made a tremendous impact as members of his Plan Committee, as well as Alexia Fawcett, the advisor to his thesis in Linguistics.

“I think the human connections I have made here are amazing,” he said. “The faculty members are so accessible. They are much more than just mentors.” 

Freedom and connection have enabled Boxer-Cooper to expand his range in every direction. He improved his Chinese writing and speaking skills; took classes in the Abenaki language through the Middlebury Language Program; and picked up electric bass, double bass, and trombone. 

“I am always trying to do more,” he said. 

Through a study abroad experience in Taiwan and Field Work Terms at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama and at Ashé Records in New York City, Boxer-Cooper has expanded his view substantially. 

“It never ceases to amaze me how my Bennington experience has taken me literally around the world and back,” he said. 

He completed two advanced works: a showcase of compositions and a Linguistics thesis. 

For his senior show, “the idea was to bring in as many people as possible. I wrote a pretty diverse range of repertoire, and I have a ton of friends whom I know are versatile musicians who I knew could handle it all. I tried to tailor my arrangements to each of their strengths, so their playing could be heard in the context of my pieces.” 

The thesis is about dialect shift in the Abenaki language.

“Through forced migrations and contact situations in refugee settlements, the Abenaki language as it is spoken today formed over not very much time. In my thesis, I analyze sound changes to learn more about how dialect leveling may have played out.” 

Boxer-Cooper is working over the summer and then continuing his education as a master’s degree student in Contemporary Musical Arts at New England Conservatory in Boston. 

“I am aiming to be a composer and musician,” said Boxer-Cooper. “My compositional practices aid my performance practices and vice versa. It would be tough to do one without the other.” 

While he is excited for the next phase, he will miss Bennington. 

“At one point, I was ranking the chapters or eras of my life, and every time, the Bennington era comes out on top. I have loved it here.”