Beth Cohen, Cantorial Soloist

Beth Cohen is a well known vocalist, violinist, string musician and music teacher in New Mexico. She has been teaching voice, guitar, violin and piano to students of all ages in her own Albuquerque studio in since she moved here from her hometown of Boston in 1983. In 1991, Beth received her Bachelor of Music degree in voice (performance track) from the University of New Mexico, where she has also completed some graduate work. Since 1995, Ms. Cohen has served as the musical director and cantorial soloist at Congregation Nahalat Shalom. Here she teaches, directs and performs in the 18-piece intergenerational Community Klezmer Band and Alavados holy days band, teaches the Bar/Bat Mitzvah preparatory classes, leads services and coordinates and co-produces the internationally known klezmer music and dance festival “Klezmerquerque.”

Beth has enjoyed teaching and playing music throughout her life. She began studying guitar and voice and accompanying her own singing when she was seven years old. She studied piano, theory and arranging with Boston jazz pianist Charles Rose from ages nine through sixteen. Throughout her childhood, she was the recipient of many awards and scholarships for her music and teaching talents. These included an internship at the prestigious New England Conservatory of  Music in Boston when she was in the 8th grade, a music teacher’s apprenticeship in the 5th and 6th grades, and another apprenticeship in high school teaching recorder to elementary school students and  teaching math to high school special-ed students.

Beth is also skilled on the mandolin, tenor banjo, Macedonian tambura, Russian balalaika, bowed psaltery, Appalachian dulcimer, and penny whistle. She especially enjoys researching, performing and teaching international folk music - particularly the music of Eastern Europe. Both of Beth’s parents spoke Yiddish at home and her mother would often sing Russian and Yiddish folk songs to her. Her mother helps her today with Yiddish pronunciation and translations of songs. Beth is a featured musician in the educational music book and tape Roots and Branches, A Legacy of Multicultural Music for Children, (Campbell, McCullough-Brabson & Cook Tucker, 1994, World Music Press), singing and accompanying herself with the Russian balalaika on one of her mother’s favorite Russian folk songs “Kalinka.”

Beth has performed throughout the southwest as a soloist and also with the noted folk groups: Svirka women’s Balkan chorus (since 1984), Earth Angels vocal trio (since 1991), Goddess of Arno, Balkan-Roma (Gypsy) dance band (since 1994), The Rebbe’s Orkestra, Klezmer and Judaic band (since 1996) and her latest ensemble Village Idioms, Celtic, Italian and international folk trio formed in 2004. She loves all kinds of music and has played in many different ensembles throughout her life in addition to her current groups, including: Celtic, classical, Medieval/Renaissance, cowboy-western, reggae, bluegrass, rock, blues and international folk.