Jonathan Cohler

Conductor and clarinetist Jonathan Cohler has been hailed as “the preeminent, most-recorded soloist of our time” by *Fanfare* magazine. As both a clarinetist and conductor, he has received numerous accolades, including the Outstanding Recording mark of the American Record Guide and BBC Music Magazine’s Best CDs of The Year. His recordings regularly top the classical charts, with his playing lauded as “superhuman” and his musical intelligence praised as “extraordinary.” He maintains a busy international schedule with performances around the globe and appearances at major festivals including Tanglewood, Aspen, and Domaine Forget. Mr. Cohler is the music director of the Massachusetts Philharmonic Orchestra, a renowned chamber music coach, and Professor of Clarinet and Chamber Music at the Longy School of Music of Bard College. His students hold positions in major orchestras worldwide and have won top prizes at numerous international competitions. A graduate of Harvard University, he is a Vandoren, Rossi, Royal Global, and Silverstein artist who records exclusively for Ongaku Records.

Jonathan Cohler performs on the Royal Global Firebird Soprano clarinet alongside a Rossi clarinet, with his signature Royal Global Cohler Barrel and Cohler Bell, and Vandoren B4013 (officially) and Gleichweit 7-1 (unofficially) mouthpieces. He is also an artist for Rossi, Vandoren, Silverstein, and Ongaku Records. His connection to the brand is foundational: "I was instrumental in the founding of Royal. Yuan Gao was my student. We developed his first products in my studio!" He describes the instruments themselves as "a beautiful and innovative piece of artistic and technical workmanship." For him, what they bring to his playing is plain: "Beautiful sound, ease of playing, and as close to technical perfection as you can get."