San Diego Reader

Cohen the Violinist: Violin

Genre: Classical, Rock, Soundtrack

Upcoming Local Shows

• YouTube video
• KOCT <em>Night On the Town</em>

Synoposis

Inception: Oceanside, 1959

Influences: The Beatles, symphonies

Background:

Cohen the Violinist plays acoustic and electric violin, having obtained a music degree and performed at Harvard. “I play without amplification,” she says, “though I used to play electric violin in rock bands.” Among her former music students in Roxbury, MA, are members of New Kids on the Block and one-time rapper Mark Wahlberg.

She can often be found busking on city streets. “I don’t stroll, don’t sell anything, am not a vendor, and don’t charge a fee,” she says. “I use a public donation cup - the public decides what I earn.”

The self-professed TV-holic performs over 400 songs, ranging from rock to classical to soundtrack music and TV themes.

Cohen has appeared on KOCT-TV channel 19’s Night On the Town, as well as The Rosie [O’Donnell] Show on the Oprah Winfrey Network, which reportedly has around 18 million viewers.