Joel Cohen, cello

Joel Cohen had his early musical training in the San Francisco Bay area with Irene Sharp and Margaret Rowell. After receiving his B.Mus. from the University of Western Ontario , further studies took him to Holland until his return to the San Francisco Bay area where he served as co-principal cellist with the Oakland Symphony from 1979 to 1985. Cohen lived in Vienna from 1985 to 1997 where he was a principal cellist of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. During those years he also performed with the Vienna Radio Symphony (ORF/RSO), the Wiener Kammeroper, the Wiener Akademie (on period instruments), and Quartett Yggdrasil. He toured extensively throughout Europe and Asia with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Johann Strauss Festival Orchestra of Vienna.

Since returning to the U.S. in 1997 he has been playing and teaching in the Boston area, performing with various orchestras and chamber music groups including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Masterworks Chorale, National Lyric Opera, the Chorus of Westerly, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra.

Joel is currently on the faculty of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and the Lexington Music School in addition to maintaining a private studio. Since 2001 he has been involved with “New Directions,” an annual cello festival exploring non-classical cello styles through concerts and workshops. Joel also performs in the Boston area with "Improvelocity," a group which explores musical collaboration through spontaneous chamber music, creating works in various styles including jazz, fusion, soundscapes and world music.