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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, wind ensemble, solo instruments and solo voice.
Ms. Cohen was recently awarded an Entrepreneurial Grant from the New England Conservatory Entrepreneurial Musicianship Department to create a multimedia video piece inspired by the work of painter Georgia O'Keeffe. Ms. Cohen has also been the recipient of the Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Prize from the International Alliance for Women in Music (2009), a scholarship from the Carpe Diem Foundation (2009-2012), 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. Ms. Cohen has premiered 13 works at the New England Conservatory Tuesday Night New Music concert series during the 2008-2010 seasons.
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.
Contact Ms. Cohen at nell@nellshawcohen.com with questions and comments.
--- News ---
May 2010 - I will be traveling to New Mexico at the beginning of June to shoot footage for a short video piece (working title: "The Faraway Nearby") exploring Georgia O'Keeffe's relationship to the New Mexico landscape, combining film, music, and animation, using a selection from my recent chamber piece "Into nowhere" as the score. The project is being funded by an Entrepreneurial Grant from the New England Conservatory Entrepreneurial Musicianship Department.
Visit my new blog, which will feature photos and video of my trip to New Mexico, and follow the filming and production process.
Cerro Pedernal, Georgia O'Keeffe's favorite mountain
--- Recent & Featured Compositions ---
Please visit selected works to listen to and learn more about my other music.
 Into nowhereI - listen to mp3 II - listen to mp3 III - listen to mp3 (Total duration: ca. 18.5 mins) "I had nothing but to walk into nowhere and the wide sunset space with the star." - Georgia O'Keeffe. I will be using the first movement as the score to a video-in-progress (see my blog for more info). |
Ridge Davis, Flute * first and second movements |
Composed February-April 2010
Premiered April 20, and May 4, 2010, at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA
(L-R: Wesley Chu, Ridge Davis, Chris Mothersole, Nell,
Joanna Wiebe, Samantha Bennett)
(Asher Severini and Nell)
| From the Faraway Nearby - listen to mp3 (Duration: ca. 6 mins) An orchestral tone poem inspired by the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe. Read the program note. |
New England Conservatory Philharmonia with John Page, conductor |
Composed February-March 2009
Non-concert reading on April 17, 2009 at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA
| Revealed in Stone (arrangement for chamber ensemble) I. Once Hidden and Enclosed - listen to mp3 II. The Years I Cannot Know - listen to mp3 III. I Become the Model - listen to mp3 IV. Hidden in You - listen to mp3 V. A Thousand Years After We Are Gone - listen to mp3 (Total duration: 12 mins) A song cycle setting of poems by Michelangelo. Read the program note and texts. This is an arrangement for tenor with 11-piece chamber ensemble. The original piano version was performed last year (mp3s here). Both performances featured tenor Mxolisi Duda. |
Anita Chandavarkar, Flute Mxolisi Duda, Tenor |
Arrangement composed May-November 2009;
piano version composed January 2009
Premiered December 1, 2009 at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA
(Nell with conductor Aram Demirjian)
| The Course of Empire I. The Savage State - listen to mp3 II. The Pastoral State - listen to mp3 III. Consummation - listen to mp3 IV. Destruction - listen to mp3 V. Desolation - listen to mp3 (Total duration: ca. 15 mins) A string quartet inspired by Thomas Cole's cycle of paintings by the same name. Read the program note and see the paintings with the music. |
Tetrachord (2008-2009 Honors Ensemble at New England Conservatory.) |
Composed November-December 2008
Premiered February 24th, 2009 at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA
(L-R: Jennifer Wey, David Meyer, Nell, Quan Yuan, Matt Davies)
Please visit selected works to listen to and learn more about my other music.
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© 2010 Nell Shaw Cohen
Please do not redistribute any of this content.
Send questions and comments to nell@nellshawcohen.com