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, Ember Choral Arts, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Salastina, members of the Bergamot Quartet, Chamber Project St. Louis, Newphonia, soprano Lucy Shelton, percussionists Ji Hye Jung and Garrett Arney, and many others. He has received recognition from ASCAP, Tribeca New Music, The Juilliard School, National YoungArts Foundation, Interlochen Center for the Arts, National Young Composers Challenge, and Music Teachers National Association for his work. Jonah has been lucky enough to attend composition programs such as Norfolk New Music Workshop (upcoming), Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Yellow Barn Young Artists Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Atlantic Music Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, Curtis Young Artists Summer Program, and Sewanee WinterFest. He also participated in Salastina’s Sounds Promising Young Composers Program, through which he worked with Derrick Skye. Jonah has had the privilege of learning from such luminaries as Gabriela Lena Frank, Martin Bresnick, Steven Mackey, Melinda Wagner, John Mackey, Pierre Jalbert, Reiko Fueting, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Frank Ticheli, Valerie Coleman, Nico Muhly, and many more. Jonah graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in 2022, where he majored in composition and studied with Dr. Cynthia Van Maanen. At the Academy, Jonah was honored to receive the Neil Rabaut Memorial Composition Scholarship as well as the Young Artist Award. Jonah is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition degree at The Juilliard School, studying with David Ludwig and A.B. Kirsten.

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 50 young composers from 17 US states and 5 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, upcoming), 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 will 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.