Laurie Cohen, director of Mill Valley Philharmonic, began her conducting studies at
San Francisco State University in 1999. She has studied with Maestri Urs
Leonhardt Steiner, David Ramadonoff, Alan Hazeldine and Kenneth Keisler, and
attended conducting workshops nationally and internationally.Ms. Cohen was assistant conductor of
San Francisco Community Music Center Orchestra from 2000 to 2004. She started
Mill Valley Philharmonic (formerly Tennessee Valley Orchestra) in the fall of
2000. In addition to conducting, she plays cello and teaches classes in
string orchestra. In 2006, Mill Valley Philharmonic won the MetLife/ American
Symphony Orchestra League Award for Excellence in Community Engagement. Laurie
received a Creative Achievement Award, the Milley, from the Mill Valley Art
Commission in 2006.
Mill Valley
Philharmonic is an
award-winning community orchestra which provides dedicated volunteer
musicians the opportunity to rehearse and perform orchestral
repertoire. Musicians come from all walks of life, from housekeeper to
astrophysicist, from student to senior. MVP is committed to presenting
innovative programming, from masterworks to world premieres. We are
based on a model of community engagement which reflects the belief that
that experiencing music as a community unites our spirits and our
voices. Mill Valley Philharmonic brings free, live orchestral music to
people in their own communities throughout Marin County and the Bay
Area.
Since Fall, 2000 Mill Valley Philharmonic (MVP) has enriched the
cultural life of the San Francisco Bay Area by offering free orchestral
programs to
people of all ages and means in their own communities. In nine years, our nonprofit community orchestra has grown from
fifteen to over fifty auditioned volunteer musicians playing strings,
winds, brass, timpani and percussion.
Mill Valley Philharmonic was awarded the MetLife/American Symphony
Orchestra Award for Excellence in Community Engagement in June, 2006.
In October, 2006, Laurie Cohen, Music Director, was awarded the Milley
by the Mill Valley Arts Commission, for creative talent in the area of
music.
Berklee College of Music conferred its Distinguished Alumni Award on Laurie Cohen,
director of Mill Valley Philharmonic, in recognition of her service to
the community. This is the first time that such an honor has been
awarded. The College held a reception and ceremony on March 24th in
the Union Square Room at the Intercontinental Hotel. Also honored at
the reception were Norihiko Hibino, video game composer, and Michael
Semanick, Academy Award winning sound remixer
