Joel Cohen

Joel Cohen earned his greatest renown in America through decades at the helm of the Boston Camerata, yet across the Atlantic he commands comparable esteem as a lutenist, radio presenter, and creator of music films. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1942, he completed studies at Brown University and Harvard University. Upon finishing at Harvard he resided for two years in Paris, refining his compositional craft under Nadia Boulanger. One year after his return to the United States he assumed leadership, in 1968, of the Boston Camerata—an ensemble then fourteen years old—which he subsequently elevated to international stature. Although he never accepted a long-term university appointment, Cohen has delivered lectures at numerous institutions, particularly those clustered around metropolitan Boston such as Harvard University and Brandeis University.

Rather than pursue original composition beyond the arrangement of preexisting works, he has concentrated on direction, organization, and occasional performance. Under his guidance the Boston Camerata has issued several dozen recordings, chiefly devoted to early music, a number of which have received major distinctions. The 1989 release Tristan et Iseult earned the Grand Prix du Disque from the Académie Charles Cros in Paris. In 1990 Cohen established the Camerata Meditarranea, an ensemble dedicated to early Mediterranean repertory. He is also the author of the volume Reprise: the Extraordinary Revival of Early Music, published in Boston in 1985.