Yael Cohen, Trumpet
Yael Cohen
Alumni Profile
Yael Cohen is a trumpet player with extensive performing experience in diverse musical settings, as well as an arts administrator that deeply cares about arts equity. She graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Psychology and Information Sciences, but prioritized music outside of the classroom through ensembles as well as lessons with Raymond Mase at the Juilliard School. Notably, she was the principal trumpet player of the New York Youth Symphony from 2017-2021, with which she was a soloist at Carnegie Hall, played on CNN with Billy Ray Cyrus, toured internationally, and was featured on a Grammy Award-winning studio album.
I owe so much of my musical, academic, and personal successes to CYS. I was a bit of a late bloomer to the orchestral scene, but when I joined my junior year of high school, I fell in love with playing in an orchestra. Leo and Carmina really empowered me to grow, both as a young player and a budding leader, by pushing me out of my comfort zone with the most challenging repertoire (at the most ambitious tempos—thanks, Leo ;) ) while being held to expectations that exceed those of a typical youth symphony (I will never forget the sleepless nights I had during our [Stravinsky] Petrushka cycle, culminating in the triumph of performing and making it through the Goliath of a trumpet part that it was!). Beyond getting to make music at an incredibly high level, touring internationally for the first time was such a transformative experience, and our yearly retreat in the magical Loma Mar woods was the breeding ground for lifelong friendships which I still cherish today. In short, CYS has given me so much, and in reflecting upon my tumultuous journey leading up this Grammy, I want to share this win with Leo, Carmina, and the entire CYS community!"
Yael spent 2022 playing trumpet for the Broadway National Tour of the musical Tootsie, and loved being a part of a production that brought laughter and levity to audiences each night. Now post-tour, Yael is back in NYC, where she works in the impact investing space as a BD/Marketing Analyst, is involved with a non-profit diversifying pit orchestras in musical theatre as an arts administrator, and is freelancing in the city. Moreover, she is the creator/host of a podcast entitled “The Brass Ceiling," in which she interviews primarily female and non-binary peers about their musical journeys, and prompts a rigorous dialogue with the intention of understanding how to achieve greater diversity in, and accessibility to, the arts.