West Virginia Symphony Orchestra Announces Next Music Director
Maurice Cohn will assume the position on June 4th at AVN Corp. Symphony Sunday 2023 and will move to Charleston in September.
“I am beyond thrilled to be joining the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra family,” said new Music Director Maurice Cohn. “When I came to perform here in April, I was immediately struck by the energy and passion for music—both from members of the orchestra and everyone in the WVSO community. This is a place that cares deeply about the power of music to transform our lives, and I feel incredibly lucky to get to be a part of that exciting project.”
Cohn was selected after an almost two-year long search process which included applicants from across the country and around the world. From the initial applicant pool, six final candidates were chosen to spend a week in Charleston learning about the WVSO and its role in the community and conducting the WVSO musicians in an Elliot Foundation Symphonic Series concert.
WVSO Music Director Maurice Cohn is a two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award and most recently served as Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Cohn was the Assistant Conductor of the Aspen Music Festival in 2022 and will return for another season in 2023.
Cohn spent two summers as a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, where he received the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize and the Aspen Conducting Prize, and he received an M.M. in conducting from the Eastman School of Music, where he worked frequently with the Eastman orchestras and OSSIA New Music Ensemble. He holds a B.M. in cello performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a B.A. from Oberlin College, where he studied history and mathematics.
The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra is West Virginia’s premier performing arts organization, presenting classical, pops, family and chamber-music concerts annually throughout the Mountain State. Currently entering its 85th season, the WVSO is a proud member of the community and enriches the region by providing affordable, high-quality concerts, collaborations with West Virginia arts organizations and a nationally award-winning education program.
