Cantor Beth Cohen
Beth Cohen is a well-known vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and music educator in New Mexico.
Since 1995, Ms. Cohen has served as the music director and Cantor at Congregation Nahalat Shalom, sharing her joy and love for Jewish music. During this time, she has studied Ashkenazic, Sephardic and some Mizrahi Jewish liturgy, nusach, trope/ ta’amim and t'filah with several cantors and rabbis as well as conducting her own studies and research.
At Nahalat Shalom, Beth teaches, directs, arranges music for, and performs in The Nahalat Shalom Community Klezmer Band and Alavados Holy Days Ensemble. Cantor Beth also teaches t’filah in Simcha Religious School and tutors the pre-B'nai Mitzvah students in t'filah and in Torah cantillation. She also leads services and Jewish events including the popular Der Freylekher Shabes - a joyous heimishe ("homey") klezmer-style Shabbat service that she created and developed. Beth coordinates and co-produces the internationally recognized klezmer music and dance festival KlezmerQuerque, which, since 2003, has taken place annually at Nahalat Shalom.
Beth studied vocal performance at the University of New Mexico (UNM) with Dr. Katherine Fowler (z”l) and Professor Robert Smith, earning her Bachelor of Music degree in voice (performance track) in 1991 and remained at UNM to complete core course work towards a Master of Music degree in voice performance until 1993.
After graduating from UNM in 1991, Beth studied classical violin and violin pedagogy with Albuquerque's "go-to" violinist/violin teacher Kathy Jarrett. At this time, Beth also began studying maqam (the Arabic modal/ scale system) on the violin with several masters including oudist Haig Manoukian (z"l), violinist Beth Bahia Cohen, oudist/ kanunist Mimi Spencer (z"l), and clarinetist Sonia Tamar Seeman. Today she continues her studies and explorations in maqam on violin and now with her voice, adding Mizrahi / Sephardi pizmonim, prayers and Torah cantillation to her studies and repertoire. Beth's latest project is her trio Neshama del Bosque (Soul of the Forest), which explores the roots, seeds and branches of Sephardic and Judeo-Spanish music from Asia to New Mexico and beyond.
Beth has been teaching voice, guitar, violin, viola, mandolin and piano to students of all ages in her Albuquerque music studio since she moved here from her hometown of Boston in 1983. A much sought-after music educator and ensemble director in New Mexico, Beth taught string orchestra at the Public Academy for Performing Arts (PAPA), as well as band, jazz and chamber ensembles at The Bosque School. For eight years she taught piano, voice and violin at Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences. Beth directed the choir at Congregation B'nai Israel and the Pop Choir at La Mesa Elementary School.
Beth is also skilled on the tenor banjo, Macedonian tambura, Russian balalaika, bowed psaltery, Appalachian dulcimer, and penny whistle. She especially enjoys researching, performing and teaching international folk music - particularly the music of Eastern Europe. Both of Beth’s parents spoke Yiddish to each other and with family members at home and her mother & uncle sang Russian and Yiddish folk songs to her. Beth is a featured musician in the book and recording "Roots and Branches, A Legacy of Multicultural Music for Children" (Campbell, McCullough-Brabson & Cook Tucker, 1994, World Music Press), performing one of her mother's favorite Russian folk songs "Kalinka."
Beth has enjoyed teaching and playing music throughout her life and has received extensive training on a variety of instruments in folk, jazz and classical styles. She began studying classical guitar and voice and accompanied her own singing when she was seven years old, and later added studies in piano, theory, performance and arranging with Boston jazz pianist Charles Rose (z”l) from ages nine through sixteen.
Beth performs throughout the southwest as a soloist and also with the noted world music ensembles: The Rebbe's Orkestra-Klezmer & Judaic band (since 1996), Goddess of Arno-Balkan band (since 1994), Neshama del Bosque (since 2018). She also performed in and recorded with Gamelan Encantada from 2006-2014, Svirka women's Balkan chorus from 1984-2004 & Earth Angels vocal trio from 1991-2004. Beth loves and teaches all genres of music, and she has performed with many different ensembles throughout her life including Celtic, classical, Americana, Old-timey, rock, reggae, Middle Eastern, Medieval/Renaissance, cowboy-western, blues and world folk.
Beth lives with her husband and band partner Randy in their funky Victorian era house (built in 1886) in Albuquerque's South Broadway / EDO neighborhood where they raised their daughter and "nakhes-machine" Jamie.
In Beth's spare time she enjoys backpacking in the high Rocky Mountains as well as hiking, snowshoeing, walking, and birdwatching in the mountains, deserts, and the lush Rio Grande Bosque -and she loves snorkeling in the ocean. She recently earned her certification as a master naturalist and she volunteers for Central New Mexico Bird Alliance, Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area in Belen and Valle de Oro. She is an active member of the NM chapter of Sierra Club, NM Wilderness Alliance, Wild Earth Guardians & Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Beth is an environmental activist and prays for the healing and protection of our sacred earth home and our animal, insect and plant family members.