Josh Cohen has been involved with music in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for many years as violinist, bassist, concertmaster, conductor, board member and impresario. At California State University, Hayward (now East Bay), he studied violin with Daniel Kobialka and Nate Rubin, and conducting with Denis DeCoteau.
Along with duties as founding Musical Director and Conductor of the Castro Valley Orchestra, Josh teaches privately, produces and performs chamber music concerts, and directs opera and musical theater productions. He has performed with many regional groups including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, California Symphony, Oakland Lyric Opera, Holy Names Orchestra, Livermore Valley Opera, Livermore Symphony, San Jose Lyric Theater, Alameda Civic Light Opera, Diablo Valley Opera, Contra Costa Musical Theater, and Trinity Chamber Concerts. He plays occasionally with the Ellis Island Old World Folk Band, and has performed with chamber groups and orchestras in Canada, England, Israel and Australia.
Josh has the pleasure of having collaborated with Bay Area composers Jack Curtis Dubowsky and Aaron Blumenthal in the development and performance of orchestral and violin repertoire on projects with Varetski Pass, The Bay Gulls, and San Francisco Balalaika Ensemble in a variety of musical styles.
Josh is a principal in Qibits Associates, specializing in computer networking and security projects. He lives in Alameda with his wife Genevieve, who is an emergency manager and flutist.