Mill Valley Philharmonic

Mill Valley Philharmonic brings free, live orchestral music to people in their own communities.

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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