Music and mountains sound right for Cohen
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s new concertmaster, violinist Diana Cohen, loves music and the mountains. That’s what brought her to Calgary from her native U.S.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Cohen grew up in a musical family. Her father, Franklin Cohen, is principal clarinet of the Cleveland Orchestra. Her mother, Lynette Diers Cohen, was a wonderful bassoonist. Her brother, Alexander, is the CPO’s timpanist.
Cohen, who is in her early 30s, attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, and has performed around the world. Before coming to Calgary, she served as concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony in Virginia; she is also violinist with Trio Terzetto.
About a year ago, she and her father founded ChamberFEST Cleveland, an international chamber music festival, with Diana serving as the festival’s executive and artistic director.
She decided to come to Calgary for a variety of reasons. “It’s financially stable,” she says. “It has a great director (Maestro Roberto Minczuk). I think he brings a real excitement to the music that I really appreciate.”
The CPO has “wonderful musicians, and I know they are going to be great colleagues. The management seems very supportive of the musicians, and it seems like the community embraces the orchestra — it’s the whole package.”
For audiences, “there is so much the CPO has to offer. There seems to be something for everybody,” Cohen said.
She is especially excited about the season’s first Classics series concert, Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) by Richard Strauss, which features the orchestra’s concertmaster in a very prominent way.
The CPO’s Symphony Sundays for Kids series features four onehour concerts, starting out with The Hockey Sweater, which will take place Sept. 30 at 3 p.m. The CPO co-commissioned this piece together with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, with music by composer Abigail Richardson.
Author Roch Carrier will appear on stage with the CPO to narrate the story during the concert.
Beethoven Lives Upstairs will take place Feb. 3. On March 10, it’s Peter and the Wolf, with the CPO’s music director, Robert Minczuk, joining CPO associate conductor Melanie Leonard onstage to narrate the story while Leonard conducts the orchestra.
On May 26, A Paintbrush for Pic- colo, by Calgary author Anne Gatha with an original score by CPO violist Arthur Bachmann, will feature guest narrator Jonathan Love and puppeteer Dean Bareham.
All Symphony Sunday shows start at 3 p.m. Before each show, at 2 p.m., the CPO will host an Instrument Petting Zoo in the concert hall lobby.
The CPO’s War & Peace Festival will take place Oct. 29 to Nov. 16.
One of the festival highlights will be the Nov. 10 concert, featuring the world premiere of Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation, a commissioned piece by Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan with lyrics by war poet, Suzanne Steele.
Rush Hour: Hosted by Katherine Duncan of CBC Radio, the CPO’s three Rush Hour series concerts will take place on Thursday evenings throughout the season at 6:30 p.m.