Maurice Cohn, a two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, was selected as Music Director for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in June of 2023 after most recently serving as the Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO). Recent engagements include the Cincinnati Symphony, Utah Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, and Symphoria New York. He was also the Assistant Conductor of the Aspen Music Festival in 2022 and will return for another season in 2023.
With the DSO, Maurice’s performance highlights include the world premiere of Mason Bates’s Philharmonia Fantastique, the second ever performance of Gabriela Ortiz’s Yanga, and a concert performance of selections from Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones. Recent seasons have also seen frequent appearances with the Chicago-based contemporary ensemble Zafa Collective and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble.
Maurice 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. When not conducting or playing cello, you can find him reading mystery novels, playing tennis, or continually searching for the best podcast app.
Maurice looks forward to becoming a “West Virginian by choice” when he moves to Charleston in September.