Allyson Cohen is a violinist passionate about outreach and engagement. It is her belief that music should be accessible to everyone without the formalities and barriers of the concert hall that inspired the creation of CMOC. Also an advocate for contemporary music and the inclusion of underrepresented composers to the standard canon of repertoire, she is excited to bring this music to the audiences of all CMOC performances. Allyson is currently studying with Professor Danielle Belen of the University of Michigan. Allyson holds a bachelor’s degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings of Mercer University. She studied there with distinguished artists Amy Moretti, David Kim, and Robert McDuffie. Allyson has given solo recitals at Carnegie Hall as well as the Kimmel Center. She has performed as a substitute for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has played under the baton of renowned conductors Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, and Yannick Nezet Seguin, and Stèphane Denéve. Allyson has acted as one of the concertmasters for the Macon-Mercer Symphony. She has attended Summer festivals such as The National Repertory Orchestra, NYO-USA, Bowdoin International Music Festival, The Manchester Music Festival, The Chautauqua Institute. In 2021 Allyson was named a young artist at Rome Chamber Music Festival. Allyson has had the privilege of taking lessons and masterclasses with James Ehnes, Miriam Fried, Catherine Cho, Donald Weilerstein, Cho Liang Lin, and Kathleen Winkler, among others. Allyson has collaborated with renowned musicians such as Lisa Batiashvili, Clive Greensmith, David Kim, and Robert McDuffie, Victoria Chiang, as well as with members of the Borromeo, Emerson, Ehnes, and Tokyo string quartets. She has also appeared in concerts alongside members of R.E.M, The Rolling Stones, and the Allman Brothers. Allyson has appeared on NPR’s From the Top and has recorded for SiruisXm and PBS.