Nell Shaw Cohen (b. 1988) was born in San Francisco and raised in California and New York. Ms. Cohen currently studies at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA under the tutelage of Michael Gandolfi. She has written for chamber ensembles, orchestra, solo instruments and solo voice, and plans to move into opera in the coming years.

Before shifting her focus to concert music, Ms. Cohen developed proficiency performing and composing classically-influenced progressive rock music (singing and playing guitar, bass, keyboard and drums), largely self-taught. In 2006 she produced an original album titled "Tempus" (under the name Nell James). It received favorable reviews in the U.S. and abroad. For more information on "Tempus" and other past recordings, visit http://nelljames.com.

Ms. Cohen is the recipient of the Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Prize from the International Alliance for Women in Music (2009), NEC's Francis Judd Cooke Scholarship for Students of Composition (2008-2012), and the Elizabeth Brockman Award (2008), and is a featured artist of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation. She has participated in master classes with John Harbison, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and Geoffrey Simon.

This website features recordings and some scores of recent compositions. Contact Ms. Cohen at nell@nellshawcohen.com with questions and comments.

--- News and Performance Dates ---

December 1, 2009 - The large chamber ensemble arrangement of my song cycle "Revealed in Stone" was premiered in Brown Hall at New England Conservatory as part of the Tuesday Night New Music series. See here for mp3.

October 27, 2009 - My duet for flute and bassoon was premiered in Williams Hall at New England Conservatory as part of the Tuesday Night New Music series. See here for mp3.

August, 2009 - The San Francisco State University Flute Choir will be premiering "Eucalyptus", the first movement of my work titled "Trees" (written for the SFSU Flute Choir), in a program of music by American composers. Here are the concert dates:

Tuesday, August 11, 7:30
Good Shepherd Church
901 Oceana Blvd., Pacifica, 94044

Saturday August 15, 2009
11:00 AM
San Francisco Main Library, Lower Level
Koret Auditorium
Civic Center, SF, 94102

May 28, 2009 - Today I was featured in the East Hampton Star. Read the article here.

May 17, 2009 - I just received the Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Prize from the International Alliance for Women in Music. The winning piece was my song "Forming Desires", for contralto, clarinet, horn and cello, a setting of poetry by Muhammad Iqbal (see here for info/mp3). I am thrilled to have received this honor!

April 21, 2009 - "To Create One's Own World" had a lovely premiere in Brown Hall at New England Conservatory. See here for mp3. This was my seventh and final performance on the 2008-2009 Tuesday Night New Music season!

April 17, 2009 - My orchestral tone poem "From the Faraway Nearby", along with another piece that is currently in-progress, was read and recorded by a student orchestra with conductor John Page. See here for mp3.

March 31, 2009 - "Revealed in Stone" premiered in Williams Hall at New England Conservatory. See here for mp3s.

March 10, 2009 - "Nine Muses" premiered in Williams Hall at New England Conservatory. See here for mp3s.

February 24, 2009 - "The Course of Empire" premiered in Brown Hall at New England Conservatory. See here for mp3s.

February 2, 2009 - Songs for baritone and piano premiered in Williams Hall at New England Conservatory. See here for mp3s.

November 25, 2008 - "The Promise" premiered in Williams Hall at New England Conservatory. See here for mp3.

October 2008 - "Forming Desires", my art song for alto, clarinet, horn and cello, was premiered on October 28th as part of the Tuesday Night New Music concert at New England Conservatory - hopefully the first of many successful performances at NEC! See here for more details on the piece.

June 2008 - I have been added to the artist roster of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation, an international charitable organization that supports "emerging artists of exceptional talent". I was selected by Swiss Global after having presented recordings of my music at their 4th Annual Playhouse Project master class and benefit concert, for which I was awarded the Elizabeth Brockman Award in composition.

The Playhouse Project benefit concert was covered in the Southampton Press. Read the full article online. The Press wrote that: "["Time-Lapse" and "Memory"] are "both melodious and thoughtfully constructed works that impressed with their maturity."


© 2010 Nell Shaw Cohen
Please do not redistribute any of this content.
Send questions and comments to nell@nellshawcohen.com