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Gilad Cohen

Gilad Cohen Assistant Professor of Music Performance & TheoryAssociate Professor of Music Performance & Theory

Year Joined RCNJ: 2014

Contact Information

  • Phone: (201) 684-6299
  • Email: gcohen1@ramapo.edu
  • Office: A-204
  • Office Hours: Wed 11:15-1:00 PM and 2:45-4:00 PM

Bio:

Praised by the 2010 Israeli Prime Minister Award Committee for “creating a personal language fusion that has a unique dimension” in music that is “fascinating, vibrant and drawing the ear as well as the heart,” Gilad Cohen (b. 1980) is an active composer, performer, and theorist in various musical genres including concert music, rock, and music for theater. His music adapts features from a wide range of musical realms and explores possible interactions among them, bringing to his creative table the persistent textures of rock, the painstaking orchestration of impressionism, the gloomy harmonies of grunge and metal, the jubilant rhythms of klezmer, the intricate imitation techniques of Baroque, the motionless landscapes of ambience; the agile melodies and scales of Arabic music; and the striking dissonances of 20th-century avant-garde.

Gilad has received commissions from Barlow Endowment, ASCAP, Concert Artists Guild, Parlance Chamber Concerts, Houston Arts Alliance, and Jerusalem Music Center, among others. His music was performed in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle-East by artists such as the Israeli Chamber Project, Nash Ensemble of London, Brentano Quartet, Mivos Quartet, PUBLIQuartet, principal players of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Budapest Festival Orchestra, harpist Sivan Magen, pianists Anne-Marie McDermott, Benjamin Hochman, and Spencer Myer, violinists Itamar Zorman and Miranda Cuckson, and violist Paul Neubauer, and his works were released on Albany Records, Naxos/Delos, and Navona Records. Gilad’s notable awards include the Barlow Prize, the Israeli Prime Minister Award for Composers, and prizes from the American Liszt Society, Lin Yao Ji Music Foundation (China), Franz Josef Reinl Foundation (Austria), and Lycia Guitar Days (Turkey), among others. His music for the stage includes the monodrama Dragon Mother for soprano and orchestra, the one-act musical Healthy Start, and music for various productions in the US and Israel including Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan, and Nissim Aloni’s Napoleon – Dead or Alive!.

Gilad has played piano, bass guitar and guitar with various ensembles at venues in the US, Canada, Mexico and Israel including New York’s Merkin Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Symphony Space. His research about the music of Pink Floyd has resulted in publications in books and academic journals (such as Music Theory Spectrum), lectures in the US and Israel, and the first-ever academic conference devoted to the band that he produced in 2014 at Princeton University together with composer Dave Molk. An Associate Professor of Music at Ramapo College of New Jersey, Gilad holds a Ph.D. in Composition from Princeton University and is a graduate of Mannes School of Music, the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop. www.giladcohen.com

Education:

  • Ph.D. Princeton University (2015)
  • M.F.A Princeton University (2011)
  • M.M. Mannes College of Music (2008)
  • B.M. The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (2004)
  • Graduate, BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop (2013)

Courses Offered:

  • Musicianship I
  • Musicianship II
  • Musicianship III: Composition
  • Musical Improvisation
  • Advanced Music Performance
  • Song Writing
  • Aural Skills
  • Shine On: The Music of Pink Floyd
  • Applied Lessons in composition
  • Applied Lessons in Piano
Recent Awards and Special Recognition

Earplay New Chamber Music’s Donald Aird Composers Competition, winner (2019)

New York Composers Circle’s John Eaton Memorial Composition Competition, winner (2018)

Beth Haverim Shir Shalom synagogue (Mahwah, NJ), Scholar-in-Residence (February 2018)

New York Composers Circle Composition Competition, Winner (2018)

Barlow Prize, Barlow Endowment for Music Composition (2016)
Commission for violin and piano duet for premieres by three ensembles

Outstanding Faculty Commitment Award for Service Learning and Civic Engagement, Ramapo College of New Jersey (2016)

Discover America VIII, The Chicago Ensemble, USA, winner (2014)

Zvi Zeitlin Memorial International Composer’s Competition, USA, 3rd prize (2014)

International Lycia Guitar Days Composition Competition, Turkey, 3rd prize (2013)

American Harp Society in Dallas’ International Composition Competition, grand winner (2013)

Whiting Fellowship in the Humanities, USA (2012-2013): one-year stipend for outstanding, advanced dissertation writers in humanities Ph.D. programs at seven graduate schools

1st Lin Yao Ji International Competition for Composition, China, winner              (2012)

Franz Josef Reinl International Composition Contest, Austria, winner (2012)

American Liszt Society International Bicentennial Composition Contest, Winner (2011)

American Composers Forum’s Encore Grant (2011)

Israeli Prime Minister Award for Composers: Israel’s most prestigious award for composers, providing one-year stipend (2010)

SCI/ASCAP Student Composition Commission Competition, national round 2nd prize winner (2010)

Outstanding Achievement in the Annual Great American Song Contest, USA (2010)

ACUM (Israeli equivalent of ASCAP) Prize, Israel (2008)

Felix Salzer Techniques of Music Award, Mannes College of Music (2008)

Recent Commissions

Chamber Music America (2021)
A Dark Matter. Alto flute, oboe, clarinet in A, piano.

Composers Guild of New Jersey (2021)
A Dark Matter (additional support). Alto flute, oboe, clarinet in A, piano.

Parlance Chamber Concerts (2017)
Moonrhymes.  3 violins, viola and piano.

Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund, for the Israeli Chamber Project (2017)
Firefly Elegy.  Clarinet, violin, viola, cello and harp.

Park Avenue Synagogue, New York City (2017)
BaShana Ha-Ba’a Bi-Yerusalayim (Jewish prayer).  Vocals and rhythm section.

Barlow Endowment for Music Composition (2016)
Duet for violin and piano (title TBD)

Concert Artists Guild with support from the Adele and John Gray endowment Fund (2016)
Around the Cauldron.  Piano trio.

Houston Art Alliance (2015)
Three Goat Blues. String quartet.

Tre Voci: violist Kim Kashkashian, flutist Marina Piccinini and harpist Sivan Magen (2015)
Suite from Romeo and Juliet (arrangement of excerpts from Prokofiev’s ballet).  Flute, viola and harp.

Park Avenue Synagogue, New York City (2015)
Adon Olam (rock song).  Voice, saxophone, cello and rhythm section.

ASCAP and SCI (Society of Composers, Inc.) (2014)
Parsley’s Hammer.  Violin and piano.

Beit Simchat Torah Congregation, New York City (2011)
Shir La’Ahava.  Arrangement for SATB choir and piano.
Od Yavo Shalom.  Arrangement for SATB choir and piano.
Had Gadya.  Arrangement for SATB choir and piano.

Israeli Chamber Project (2010)
Trio for a Spry Clarinet, Weeping Cello and Ruminating Harp.

Discography
  • Around the Cauldron (composer). In Mirrors.  Lysander Piano Trio (First Hand Records, 2020).
  • Ten Variations (composer). In Jaipur to Cairo by Cuatro Puntos (Toccata Classics, expected 2019).
  • Three Goat Blues (composer). In Ancestral Voices.  Apollo Chamber Players (Navona Records, 2017).
  • Lashana Ha-Ba’ah (composer). In Moments of Awe.  Cantor Azi Schwartz (Park Avenue Synagogue, NYC, 2017).
  • Ballade for Piano (composer). In Piano Character Pieces from Four Continents. Richard Zimdars, piano (Albany Records, 2015).
  • The Rushing Camel (composer). In New Strings Attached. Nadav Lev, guitar (Naxos/Delos, 2015).
  • Adon Olam (composer). In Mizmor Shir. Cantor Azi Schwartz (Park Avenue Synagogue, NYC, 2015).
  • Al Mishkavi Baleylot (composer). In Thalamus Vocal Quartet.  Thalamus Vocal Quartet (Self-released, 2011).
  • Magda & Shorashim, world music album (arrangements, guitars, vocals). Shorashim Ensemble (CD Baby, 2011).
  • Little Rooms, rock album (vocal arrangements). Greene Girl (Bandcamp, 2011).
  • Holiday, vocal group album (additional vocal arrangements). High Five Vocalworks (Bandcamp, 2008).
  • Windings, rock album (composer, co-producer, co-engineer, lead vocals, bass guitar, guitars, keyboards). Double Space (High Fidelity, 2006).
  • Desert Flower and Aba Cadabra, theatre soundtrack (composer, producer, engineer, keyboards, programming, percussion). MARA Theatre, Israel (self-released, 2004).
  • Napoleon – Dead Or Alive!, theatre soundtrack (composer, producer, co-engineer, keyboards, programming, guitars). Ha-Nisuii High School, Jerusalem (self-released, 2001).
Performances of Works since 2019
  • “Trio for…” stands for Trio for a Spry Clarinet, Weeping Cello, and Ruminating Harp

American Harp Society National Conference (Sioux Falls, SD, USA), 6.22.2022: Trio for… (Israeli Chamber Project)

Arthur Zankel Music Center (Saratoga Springs, NY, USA), 6.9.2022: A Dark Matter (Exponential Ensemble)

Budapest Festival Orchestra Hall (Hungary), 5.8.2022: Firefly Elegy (Budapest Festival Orchestra principals)

Stichting Kamermuziek Hengelo (Netherlands), 4.10.2022: Firefly Elegy (Berghout Ensemble)

Israel Conservatory of Music (Tel Aviv, Israel), 4.2.2022: Around the Cauldron (Israeli Chamber Project)

Bar Orian Concert Hall (Kibutz Eilon, Israel), 4.1.2022: Around the Cauldron (Israeli Chamber Project)

Merom Hagalil Conservatory (Israel), 3.31.2022: Around the Cauldron (Israeli Chamber Project)

Ra’anana Music Center (Israel), 3.30.2022: Around the Cauldron (Israeli Chamber Project)

Ludgeruskerk Hall (Netherlands), 3.27.2022: Firefly Elegy (Berghout Ensemble)

Royal Welsh College (Cardiff, UK), 3.24.2022: Doaa and Masa (Sivan Magen, harp)

Carnegie Hall (New York, NY, USA), 3.23.2022: The Last Battle of King Sorrow (Decoda)

St Michael’s Church (Michaelchurch Escley, UK), 3.19.2022: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arr. (Pelléas Ensemble)

National Opera Center (New York, NY, USA), 3.18.2022: A Dark Matter (Exponential Ensemble)

Seoul Arts Centre (South Korea), 11.21.2021: Doaa and Masa (Sivan Magen)

Guangju Culture and Art Center (South Korea), 11.19.2021: Doaa and Masa (Sivan Magen, harp)

National Opera House (New York, NY, USA), 10.21.2021: Dances of Peril (Exponential Ensemble)

North Carolina Museum of Art (Raleigh, NC, USA), 9.19.2021: Around the Cauldron (Lysander Piano Trio)

Wells House (Ireland), 5.2.2021: Trio for a Spry Clarinet, Weeping Cello, and Ruminating Harp (Musici Ireland)

Holocaust Museum Houston (Houston, TX, USA), 4.15.2021: Three Goat Blues (Apollo Chamber Players)

Indiana University Bloomington live-from-Joshi series (IN, USA), 4.14.2021: Trio for…  (Indiana U New Music Ensemble)

Indiana University Bloomington (IN, USA), 3.20.2021: Trio for… (Kari Novilla, harp; Jaemin Lee, Cello; Ana Nelson, clarinets)

University of York (York, UK), 10.28.2020: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement (Pelléas Ensemble)

Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst (Graz, Austria), 10.12.2020: Trio for…  (Trio FLOREO)

Festival Mozaic (Paso Robles, CA, USA), 7.30.2020: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement (Marcia McHugh, flute; Jessica Chang, viola; Meredith Clark, harp)

Harris County Public Library “Live in Studio” concert (TX, USA), 6.4.2020: Three Goat Blues (Apollo Chamber Players)

Stony Brook University, remote concert (NY, USA), 5.21.2020: The Rushing Camel (Nadav Lev, guitar)

The United Reformed Church (Fordingbridge, UK), 3.6.2020: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement (Pelléas Ensemble: Henry Roberts, Flute; Luba Tunnicliffe, Viola; Oliver Wass, Harp)

National Opera Center (NYC, USA), 3.4.2020: Firefly Elegy (Exponential Ensemble)

Atrium Theater (San Francisco, CA, USA), 2.10.2020: Late Shadow (Earplay New Chamber Music)

Temple de Hirsch Sinai (Seattle, WA), 2.8.2020: Doaa and Masa (Sophie Baird-Daniel, harp)

Franz Schubert Institute (Vienna, Austria), 1.29.2020: Trio for… (Trio FLOREO)

Bad Gleichenberg (Austria), 12.19.2019: Trio for… (Trio FLOREO)

Chamber Music Tulsa (OK, USA), 10.11.2019: Around the Cauldron (Lysander Piano Trio)

Michigan State University (MI, USA), 10.4.2019: Trio for… (Tasha Warren, clarinet; Daniel Tressel, cello; Chen-Yu Huang, harp)

​​Keystone Korner (Baltimore, MD, USA), 9.29.2019: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement (Marcia McHugh, flute; Colin Sorgi, viola; Jacqueline Pollauf, harp)

Community Concerts at Second (Baltimore, MD, USA), 9.15.2019: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement
(Trio Sirènes: Marcia McHugh, flute; Karin Brown, viola; Jacqueline Pollauf, harp)

Tel-Aviv Museum (Tel-Aviv, Israel), 8.1.2019: Psalm Song, choral arrangement (Cecilia Ensemble, cond. Guy Pelc)

University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz (Austria), 6.28.2019: Trio for… (Trio FLOREO)

Israel Festival (Jerusalem, Israel), 6.8.2019: Doaa and Masa (Sivan Magen, harp)

Newbury Spring Festival (UK), 5.21.2019: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement (Adam Walker, flute; Timothy Ridout, viola; Lucy Wakefort, harp)

Omaha Chamber Music Society (Omaha, NE, USA), 4.22.2019: Trio for… (John Klinghammer, Maria Crosby, Katie Wychulis)

Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL, USA), 3.29.2019: Three Goat Blues (Apollo Chamber Players)

Helsinki Music Centre (Helsinki, Finland), 3.15.2019: Doaa and Masa (Sivan Magen, harp)

Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH, USA), 3.10.2019: Late Shadow (David Bowlin, violin; Spencer Myer, piano)

Pro Musica San Miguel de Allende Mexico (Guanajuato, Mexico), 3.9.2019: Around the Cauldron (Lysander Piano Trio)

Lyon & Healy’s Harptacular Festival (Nashville, TN, USA), 3.2.2019: Doaa and Masa (Sivan Magen, harp)

Hancher at The University of Iowa (IA, USA), 1.24.2019: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement
(Kim Kashkashian, viola; Marina Piccinini, flute; Sivan Magen, harp)

White Rock Concerts (British Columbia, Canada), 1.18.2019: Suite from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, arrangement
(Kim Kashkashian, viola; Marina Piccinini, flute; Sivan Magen, harp)

Church of the Transfiguration (New York, NY, USA), 1.15.2019: Three Goat Blues (Klang String Quartet)

Analytical Publications

Cohen, Gilad. “Temporal Journey through Pink Floyd’s Music.” In Tear Down The Wall: An Interdisciplinary Interrogation of the Music and Significance of Pink Floyd, ed. Chris Hart and Simon A. Morrison. UK: Routledge, forthcoming (invited chapter).

Cohen, Gilad. “The Shadow of Yesterday’s Triumph: Pink Floyd’s ‘Shine On’ and Stage Theories of Grief.” Music Theory Spectrum, Oxford University Press, April 2018, https://academic.oup.com/mts/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mts/mty011/4972847?guestAccessKey=ed444a11-c50e-464c-9a22-3c72fc4ffe28 (peer-reviewed).

Cohen, Gilad. “Expansive Form in Pink Floyd’s ‘Dogs.'”  Music Theory Online 21.2, June 2015, http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.15.21.2/mto.15.21.2.cohen.html (peer-reviewed).

Cohen, Gilad. “Breaking Away from the Pack: Unique Large-Scale Structure in Pink Floyd’s Song ‘Dogs'” (Hebrew).  In Pink Floyd: Tearing Down the Wall, ed. Ari Katorza.  Tel-Aviv, Israel: Resling Publishing House, November 2014, pp 119-154 (invited chapter).

Cohen, Gilad. “In Pink Floyd’s River, Time is Endless.” theconversation.com, ed. Nick Lehr. November 2014, http://theconversation.com/in-pink-floyds-river-time-is-endless-33707 (invited article).

Select Performances (Piano, guitar, bass guitar, voice, choral conducting)
  • Shorashim Ensemble, Israeli & Jewish music ensemble (arranger, pianist, guitarist, singer):
    Merkin Hall (New York), Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York), Symphony Space (New York), Civic Centre (Ottawa, Canada), Georgetown University (Washington, DC), Eisenhower Park (East Meadow, NY) – 2005-2015
  • Klezshop Trio, Original modern klezmer trio (composer, bassist, singer): 92ndStreet Y (New York), Verdi Square Festival for the Arts (New York), The Stone (New York), The Bendheim Performing Arts Center(Scarsdale, NY), Indiana University – 2007-2009.
  • High Five Vocalworks, Vocal jazz group (bassist, arranger), Don’t Tell Mama (New York), Mostly Music Festival (Nyack, NY), Rockland Center for the Arts (Nyack, NY) – 2006-2008.
  • Double Space, Original progressive rock group (composer, lead singer, bassist, pianist): Targ Center, broadcasted live on Israel “Voice of the Music” Radio One (Jerusalem), Music of the Desert Festival (Sde Boker, Israel), Jerusalem Film Festival (Jerusalem), Zapa Jerusalem (Jerusalem), Camelot Tel-Aviv (Tel-Aviv), Yellow Submarine (Jerusalem) – 2003-2008.
Conference Activity and Invited Talks
  • Beth Haverim Shir Shalom synagogue, Mahwah, NJ (2021)
    Music and Emotions (online)
  • Israel Arts and Science Academy, Jerusalem, Israel (2021)
    Inspiration in Composition (online)
  • SabraCulture, New Jersey, USA (2021)
    Lecture series: A Birth of a Song (online)
  • Yellow Submarine High School Program, Jerusalem, Israel (2020)
    Creative Process in Composition and Arrangement (online)
  • Beth Haverim Shir Shalom synagogue, Mahwah, NJ (2019)
    Setting lyrics to music
  • The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Israel (2019)
    Personal voice and inspiration in composition and songwriting
  • The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Israel (May 2018)
    Composition lessons and master class in composition for undergraduate and graduate music students
  • Beth Haverim Shir Shalom synagogue, Mahwah, NJ (2018)
    Transformations in Lyrical and Musical Messages in Israeli Popular Music
    Different approaches for setting Jewish Prayers
    Workshop with children: Original vocal arrangement of “Od Yavo Shalom”
  • The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Israel (2017)
    Concert music, theatre, Pink Floyd and their intersections
  • Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University (2015)
    Musical Design in Stephen Sondheim’ Company
  • The Society of Composers, Inc. Region VI Conference (2015)
    The Shadow of Yesterday’s Triumph: “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and the Stage Theory of Grief
  • The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (2015)
    My works for the concert hall, rock bands, and musical theatre
  • The University of Chicago (2015)
    Expansive Form in Pink Floyd’s Song “Dogs”
  • Northwestern University (2015)
    Expansive Rock: Large-Scale Structure in the Music of Pink Floyd
  • Pink Floyd: Sound, Sight, and Structure Conference, Princeton University (2014)
    The Shadow of Yesterday’s Triumph: “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and the Stage Theory of Grief
  • Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University (2014)
    Musical Design in Stephen Sondheim’ Company
  • Princeton Research Symposium, Princeton University (2013)
    Finding a Way through the Maze: Unique Large-Scale Structure in Pink Floyd’s Song “Dogs”
  • Temple Ner Tamid, Bloomfield, NJ (2013)
    Lyrical and Musical Messages in Contemporary Israeli Popular Music
  • Edward Aldwell Center for Piano Performance and Musicianship, Israel
    Visual Images and Music Design in John Adams’ Transmigration of Souls (2012)
    Large-Scale Structure in Pink Floyd’s song “Dogs” (2010)
  • The University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music (2012)
    Master Class in Composition for doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s composition students
    My Concert Music
  • The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (2012)
    Large-Scale Structure in Pink Floyd’s song “Dogs”
  • The University of Iowa School of Music (2011)
    My Concert Music
  • Mannes College of Music (2009)
    Rock Harmony in Music of The Beatles, Nirvana and Alice in Chains
  • Beit Hinuch High School, Jerusalem, Israel (2008)
    Genres and Musical Characteristics in Rock Music
  • The Academy for Jewish Religion, New York City (2007)
    Lyrical and Musical Messages in Contemporary Israeli Popular Music
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