Warren Cohen brings an extensive career spanning two decades of musical direction to Musica Nova Orchestra. Significantly developing every organization that he has been involved with, he studied conducting with Gustav Meier and Paul Vermel. Born in Montreal, Cohen studied piano with his father Philip Cohen and composition privately. Performing as a solo pianist in the years from 1980?1990, he performed over 200 works, including 20 world premiere performances. Living in Hawaii at the time, he held the position of Music Director of the Kumu Kahua Group, which specialized in locally themed productions. He composed music for numerous theatre productions, as well as working as a ballet accompanist and an accompanist to singers. This work lead to his being asked to conduct the orchestra for the production of an obscure musical, ?Here?s Love? by Meredith Wilson in 1990, after which he was in growing demand to conduct many other productions and concert works.
During the 1991-1992 season Cohen undertook a program of self-study in England, attending rehearsals at English National Opera and asking lots of questions of Mark Elder, the Music Director at that time. He then returned to Hawaii in 1992, continuing his work in symphonic and concert repertoire, as well as in theatre productions. He was conductor of the revamped Hawaii Chamber Orchestra for the 1994-1995 season.
In 1996 he was appointed Music Director of the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra in Tucson, a position he held until 2005. The following years brought him to the Valley, becoming the Music Director of the Fine Arts String Orchestra in Phoenix in 2001, the Music Director of MusicaNova Orchestra of Scottsdale in 2003, and of the Scottsdale Baroque Orchestra in 2004.
Cohen has played a significant role in the resurgence of interest in the British composer, Richard Arnell, conducting several of his symphonies in concert and releasing a critically acclaimed recording of the 4th and 5th Symphonies with the MusicaNova Orchestra on the Con Brio label.
His talent and inventiveness as both a composer and conductor have earned Cohen nine ASCAP awards for original composition, and a 1999 ASCAP/American Symphony Orchestra League Award for Adventurous Programming. He has conducted nearly 1,000 works over the past ten seasons, with scores of regional and world premieres. He continues to compose, mostly for orchestra in recent years. His portfolio of compositions include three Concerto Grossos, a Sinfonietta Giocosa and Sinfonia Concertante for full orchestra, a Marimba Concerto, several chamber works and works for film and theatre.
Cohen, his wife, soprano Carolyn Whitaker, and their 11-year-old son Graham, now divide their time between Arizona and the East Coast, where Graham, an accomplished award-winning composer, is the youngest composition student in the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School.
