Concordia Magazine

Joanne Cohen

Joanne Cohen is retiring from the music department after 23 years of service as professor of violin and viola.

Cohen came to Concordia in 1990 to continue an already accomplished career as a performer and teacher. A native of Baltimore, she received her musical training at the internationally acclaimed Peabody Conservatory, won a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Rome, performed with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., among many other ensembles, and taught at the College of Wooster in Ohio.

Upon her arrival at Concordia, Cohen had an immediate impact on the string program at Concordia with her exemplary teaching, and on the entire Fargo-Moorhead region with her performances with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, the Fargo-Moorhead Opera and the Concordia Trio. Cohen began performing with piano professor Dr. David Worth as a duo shortly after her arrival and eventually grew to include cello professor Eugenia Slezak, becoming the Concordia Trio.

Cohen also traveled with The Concordia Orchestra on five separate occasions as a faculty soloist and collaborated with many members of the faculty in recitals and outreach performances. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Cohen has played a pivotal role in strengthening and expanding the scope of Concordia’s string and orchestral programs through her tireless efforts as a teacher, performer and recruiter.

Colleagues and former students share warm admiration for Cohen’s pedagogy and musicianship, her unique wit and good humor, her encouragement of students, and her loyalty to her friends and colleagues.

Jane Linde Capistran, who joined the string faculty in 1996, says that she has learned a tremendous amount from Cohen and has always appreciated her support and mentorship and her ability to set students at ease, making them feel at home. Capistran says, “Joanne’s sense of humor is one of her strongest assets.”

“Even during my freshman year when I learned that everything I was doing was wrong, she always gave me confidence that I could be successful. She was very encouraging and became someone I could talk to very easily,” says a former student.

When Cohen leaves Concordia, she plans on moving to South Carolina, where she lived for a time and played with a group. She’ll be involved in music and teaching, so retiring may not be the correct terminology for her departure, but she’ll be happily leaving behind things like snow in April.

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