Alden F. Cohen
​
Professional Musician & Teacher
BIOGRAPHY
Professional Musician
​​
A San Francisco native, Mr. Cohen is a professional free-lance double bassist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. Cohen received his bachelor’s degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and his master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
In 2018, Mr. Cohen won the Oakland Symphony Assistant Principal bass audition. In 2008, he won the Santa Cruz County Symphony principal bass audition. In 2004, Mr. Cohen won a spot on the San Francisco Symphony Double Bass substitute list.He is also a contracted section bass member of the Symphony Napa Valley, Berkeley Symphony and Modesto Symphony. He has performed as Principal Bass for the Berkeley Symphony, Fresno Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Symphony Napa Valley, Pacific Chamber Symphony, San Francisco Lyric Opera and West Bay Opera.
​ As a soloist, Mr. Cohen performed with Stephen Tramontozzi, San Francisco Symphony Bassist, at the San Francisco Bass Bash in 2016 & 2005. He has also performed with other free-lance double bassists for donor parties and other special events.​
Teacher
​​
Mr. Cohen has decades of experience teaching double bass and cello students. Many students have won auditions into the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra as well as other youth orchestras in the Bay Area. Mr. Cohen's students develop daily routines, organizational, goal oriented and critical thinking skills on top of becoming an accomplished artist. He has a passion for helping children to adults learn how to play the music they love on a cello or double bass.
​
Mr. Cohen is also an experienced musical arranger, publicist and music theory instructor. He has written two books called, Virtuoso Bass Skills for Double Bass Rookies, that is a compilation of original and borrowed bass techniques and famous melodies specially arranged for the double bass and Pre-shift Practice with Scales, to help improve the accuracy of the left-hand.
