Jonah Cohen (b. 2004) (he/him) is a composer, conductor, pianist, and cellist from Farmington Hills, MI and currently based in New York City. His compositions tend to revolve around his fascinations with space, time, motion, and stagnation and how they are relevant in the here and now. He strives to write music that is accessible yet unafraid to explore sonic realms that may be uncomfortable. One of his most central pursuits is balancing risk with safety and security in his music to create memorable and impactful experiences for the audience.

Jonah’s music has been performed by preeminent ensembles and soloists such as the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, Ember Choral Arts, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Salastina, soprano Lucy Shelton, percussionists Ji Hye Jung and Garrett Arney, pianists Maxim Lando and Jack (Yang) Gao, and many others. He has received recognition from organizations including ASCAP, Tribeca New Music, The Juilliard School, National YoungArts Foundation, National Young Composers Challenge, and Music Teachers National Association. Jonah has attended numerous composition programs and festivals, including Norfolk New Music Workshop, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Yellow Barn Young Artists Program, and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Jonah graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he was honored to receive the Neil Rabaut Memorial Composition Scholarship and the Young Artist Award. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition degree at The Juilliard School, where he was selected as a winner of the Orchestra Competition, Gena Raps Chamber Music Prize, and was named a Presser Scholar. His mentors include John Corigliano, David Ludwig, A.B. Kirsten, and Cynthia Van Maanen.

Dedicated to supporting future generations of musicians, Jonah is the Founder and Artistic & Executive Director of The NowBeat Project. Since its founding in 2021, this not-for-profit organization has provided free opportunities for over 70 young composers from 21 US states and 7 countries, and presented its first in-person concert in May 2024. In August 2024, Jonah was honored to be selected as a 2024 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awardee for his work with The NowBeat Project, joining a cohort of 15 Jewish teen leaders from across the country. Jonah also serves as a Teaching Fellow in The Juilliard School’s Ear Training Department, working with Dr. Kevin Quill.

As a conductor, Jonah began his formal studies at Interlochen Arts Academy, where he participated in the Advanced Conducting course and worked extensively with Matthew Schlomer. During his time at Interlochen, Jonah also founded and directed the Interlochen Modern Music Project, a student chamber orchestra dedicated to playing works written in the last 100 years. From 2022 to 2025, Jonah served as a Robert L. Poster Apprentice Conductor at the New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), where he studied with Andrew J. Kim and Adrian Rogers. In the 2024-2025 school year, Jonah was also a participant in Juilliard’s undergraduate Orchestral Conducting course, through which he worked with Jeffrey Milarsky. Jonah has participated in Wintergreen Music’s LEAD Cooperative Conducting Program (2024) and National Orchestral Institute + Festival’s Conducting Academy (auditor) (2025), where he has worked with Marin Alsop, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Erin Freeman, and Mei-Ann Chen. Since 2024, he as also served as Assistant Conductor of the Weill Cornell Music & Medicine Orchestra; in July 2025, Jonah lead the Orchestra in a program of works by Caroline Shaw, Stravinsky, and Beethoven.

Jonah’s other interests include musical theater, aviation, astronomy, and watching BBC Earth videos narrated by Sir David Attenborough. He has a pet goldfish named Gilliam who is over eight years old.