Rochella Cooper was born on July 14, 1933, in South Africa. She studied flute and piano at the University of Cape Town and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 1955. Thereafter she attended the Royal Academy of Music in London and spent two years in Paris with flute teacher Rene Rateau and the renowned pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Subsequently she performed all around the world. Her career highlights include a position as the principal flutist with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in Israel and as the soloist with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Along with her husband, neurologist Dr. Ben Cooper, she moved to Houston in 1961 where he would pursue his medical career, while she would leverage and transform her musical talents into other avenues.

After initially volunteering to teach music to children at the School of the Woods Montessori School in exchange for her sons' tuition there, she was approached to become the principal of the school after just three years there. During her tenure, she expanded enrollment, hired and trained teachers, served as board chair, and grew the board of directors.

By 1972, Rochella was engrossed in what would be her second seven-year career. From weaving placemats to creating large sculptural Fiberworks, she would become a renowned fiber artist, selling commissioned works to corporations and private collectors. Watson/Denagy Gallery featured Rochella in a solo exhibition in 1977, the first fiber artist to exhibit in an art gallery in Houston. Her fiber works were exhibited in the Venice Biennale in 1977, in the British International Miniature Textile Exhibition 1978, and Italy in the Volumina Exhibition.

Between 1979 and 1986, Rochella was hired as the first executive director/president of the newly formed Houston Festival Foundation. She was charged with developing a future plan for the festival to include the 1986 sesquicentennial of the city of Houston and the 25th anniversary of NASA. She resigned having successfully completed her mission to bring the performing, visual, and literary arts to Houston's community and to the international audience.

Utilizing her extensive experience as a sailor, Rochella created and launched Women at the Helm sailing school in 1987 providing women the opportunity to learn from women captains. She expanded the business to include a marketing, leadership, and team-building program to corporations and non-profit organizations.

Her other achievements include serving as the president of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Texas Chapter; creating the Artful Garden Gallery for outdoor sculptures, founding and serving as board chair of “Texans for Alternatives to Pesticides”; designing and building several homes, winning several national pickleball championships, and countless other accomplishments.

After nearly 61 years of residing in Houston and never losing her passion for music, Rochella continues to lead a very exciting and busy life. She has played the piano in different arenas, assisted various conductors with sectional rehearsals, created a chamber music series, and sung with the Houston Masterworks Chorus. Rochella Cooper continues to use her many talents to help her friends, her community, and the city of Houston.