Jonathan Cohler
Jonathan Cohler (b. June 19, 1959) is an American clarinetist, conductor, music teacher, chamber musician and coach, and recording artist.
Career
Cohler's teachers include Boston Symphony Orchestra clarinetists Pasquale Cardillo and Harold Wright,[1] Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra clarinetist Karl Leister, clarinet soloist Charles Neidich and Frank Martin.
Cohler graduated in physics from Harvard University in 1980. In 1978, he won a fellowship to the Tanglewood Music Center. He also held the principal clarinet position of the Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra (now known as the National Repertory Orchestra) in 1979 under conductor Carl Topilow. As of 2011, he is a member of the clarinet, chamber music and conducting faculties of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts,[2] The Boston Conservatory,[3] and the New England Conservatory in Boston.
He has toured the United States, Japan, Europe, China, South Korea, Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Cuba, and performed at many festivals including those of Tanglewood, Aspen, Rockport, Newport, Martha's Vineyard and the Hamptons. He has been a frequent invited performer at the International Clarinet Association's annual ClarinetFest. He has been featured on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago. His concerto appearances include the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Santo Andre Orchestra in Brazil and the Copland Clarinet Concerto with the Evergreen Orchestra at the National Concert Hall of Taiwan in Taipei. Conducting engagements have included Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 with the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Caracas, Venezuela, and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker with the Indian Hill Orchestra (Groton, Massachusetts), the Granite State Ballet Company in New Hampshire, and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra Texas All-State Symphony Orchestra in San Antonio.[4]
Cohler is also active as a chamber musician, chamber music coach, adjudicator and conductor. He has collaborated with members of the Emerson String Quartet, the Muir String Quartet, the Lark Quartet, the Claremont Trio, the Moscow Conservatory Trio, the Amadeus Trio, the New Jersey Chamber Music Society, the Boston Chamber Music Society and The Wavehill Trio, and with Boris Berezovsky, Ilya Kaler, Andres Diaz, Charles Neidich, Laurence Lesser, Randall Hodgkinson, Judith Gordon, and Rasa Vitkauskaite[5] .
Cohler has coached several groups that have won top prizes in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition,[6][7] the Coleman Chamber Music Competition[8] and the Chamber Music Foundation of New England Competition[9].
Cohler has judged international clarinet and music competitions including the 1st European Clarinet Competition,[10] the Young Artist Competition of the International Clarinet Association,[11] the Canadian National Music Competition and others.
As of 2011, Cohler is the Music Director of the Massachusetts Philharmonic Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of the New England Conservatory, Founder/Artistic Director of the International Woodwind Festival, and Founder/Director of the Advanced Chamber Music Institute. For ten years, from 1996 to 2006, he was the Music Director of the Brockton Symphony Orchestra.[12]
In the early 1990s, Cohler founded the classical music record company Ongaku Records, Inc.[13] which has published recordings featuring Tchaikovsky Competition gold-medal violinist Ilya Kaler, pianist Sergey Schepkin,[14] Tchaikovsky Competition silver-medal cellist Suren Bagratuni, pianist Randall Hodgkinson, pianist Judith Gordon, pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite,[5] composer/pianist David Alpher, the Claremont Trio, pianist/composer Haskell Small, pianist Yoshiko Okada, pianist Adrian Oetiker, woodwind quintet Vento Chiaro, pianist Janice Weber, himself, and others.
Discography
Cohler has published nine solo/chamber music recordings. He was nominated for a NAIRD 1995 Indie Award in the classical solo category for Jonathan Cohler: The Clarinet Alone.[15] Cohler on Clarinet and More Cohler on Clarinet[16] are cited in The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs Yearbook 2006/7: Best Buys in Classical Music.[17] His other recordings include Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time,[18] Rhapsodie Francaise (Classical 94.5 WNED-FM 2008 "Best of the Year" classical CDs), Jonathan Cohler & Claremont Trio (awarded the Critic's CHOICE by BBC Music Magazine),[19][13] Moonflowers, Baby! (MusicWeb International "Recording of the Month", October 2010),[20] and Brahms Clarinet Sonatas distributed by BBC Music Magazine with its October 1994 issue.[21] He is also heard on the CD "David Alpher: American Reflections" in Alpher's piece "Tribute to Kerouac".
- Jonathan Cohler & Claremont Trio, Ongaku Records, 2009[22]
- Rhapsodie Francaise, Ongaku Records, 2008[23]
- Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time, Ongaku Records, 2004[24]
- David Alpher: American Reflections, Ongaku Records, 1999[25]
- Jonathan Cohler: The Clarinet Alone, Ongaku Records, 1995[26]
- Brahms Clarinet Sonatas, BBC Music Magazine, 1994[21]
- Moonflowers, Baby!, Crystal Records, 1994[27]
- More Cohler on Clarinet, Ongaku Records, 1994[28]
- Cohler on Clarinet, Ongaku Records, 1993[29]
References
- ^ Morin, Alexander J. (2002). Classical music: the listener's companion. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 1156. ISBN 9780879306380. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "Jonathan Cohler's bio page on Longy website". Longy School of Music. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Jonathan Cohler's bio on the Boston Conservatory website". The Boston Conservatory. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Plano Independent School District Press Release" (PDF). Plano ISD Fine Arts Department. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ a b Vitkauskaite, Rasa (2011). "Lithuanian Music Performers' Information Centre". Lithuanian Music Performers' Information Centre. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "History of Fischoff Winners". Fischoff Competition Program. 38th Annual. May 2011.
- ^ Pfeifer, Ellen (10 May 2005). "NEC Prep Students Triumph at Fischoff Competition". Musical America Worldwide. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ "Vento Chiaro biography". Vento Chiaro. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ "Festivus Quartet - 2006 ICMEC Grand Prize Winner". Chamber Music Foundation of New England. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ "1st European Clarinet Competition (Kortrijk, Belgium)" (PDF). European Clarinet Association. November 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ Koons, Keith (December 2009). "The 2009 I.C.A. Young Artist Competition". The Clarinet. 37 (1). International Clarinet Association: 80.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Massey, Joanna (11 December 2003). "Brockton Enjoys Crescendo of Success". The Boston Globe. p. 8. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ a b Kaplan, Richard (Mar/Apr 2009). "Jonathan Cohler's Ongaku Records—More than a "Clarinet Label"". Fanfare Magazine. 32 (4).
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Goldberg Variations discography
- ^ "NAIRD's '95 Indie Awards Nominees". Billboard. 11 May 1996. p. 50. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "Review: More Cohler on Clarinet". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ March, Ivan. "[[The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music|The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs]] Yearbook 2006/7: Best Buys in Classical Music". Penguin. p. 525. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
{{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ Shenton, Andrew (2008). Towards a 'manner of realization' for Messiaen's music (in Messiaen Studies Ed. Robert Sholl). Cambridge University Press. pp. 185–187. ISBN 0521839815.
- ^ Burton, Anthony (May 2009). "Review: Jonathan Cohler & Claremont Trio". BBC Music Magazine.
- ^ Ledeniov, Oleg (October 2010). "Review: Moonflowers, Baby!". MusicWeb International. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Amazon.com: Brahms Clarinet Sonatas". BBC Music Vol. III Number 2. October 1994. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Jonathan Cohler & Claremont Trio". Ongaku Records, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Rhapsodie Francaise". Ongaku Records, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time". Ongaku Records, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: David Alpher: American Reflections". Ongaku Records, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Jonathan Cohler: The Clarinet Alone". Ongaku Records, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Moonflowers, Baby!"". Crystal Records. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: More Cohler on Clarinet". Ongaku Records, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Cohler on Clarinet". Ongaku Records, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2011.