Benefit event: The 13th annual Liana Cohen Music Festival and Concert, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., at the Skirball Cultural Center, Magnum Hall, Sepulveda Pass.
Dr. Rosemary Cohen is a mother, wife, sociologist, textile and silk designer, painter, author, journalist, motivational speaker and, finally, the founder and director of the Liana Cohen Foundation, a non-profit organization for the betterment of music, arts, and dance.
The foundation is named after Dr. Cohen’s daughter, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1992, at the age of 18, the night before leaving for college.
Drawing from her inner strength and fortitude, the grief-stricken mother vowed to keep Liana’s memory alive through the one medium that had meant the most to her daughter: music.
Liana was a gifted pianist who had been playing the piano since the age of six. She had studied at L'école nationale de musique d'Orsay near Paris, and later at the Coburn School in Los Angeles, performing solo, duo, trio, and quartets with her siblings.
And thus began the journey of celebrating Liana’s musical legacy.
Every year, on Liana’s birthday, March 25, — this Wednesday night — the foundation hosts a free concert, featuring the winners of the Liana Cohen Music Festival as well as guest musicians and performers.
Now in its 13th year, the festival is one of the most prestigious music competitions for young musicians in Southern California.
How the Competition Works
Young musicians, in the 4th to the12th grades, who play the piano, a string instrument (violin, viola, cello, classical guitar, harp), or a wind instrument (oboe, clarinet, flute, French horn), enroll for the competition through an application process.
During the competition, which takes place 10 days before the concert, 12 volunteer judges, who are professional musicians, teachers, conductors, soloists, department chairs, doctoral students and heads of renowned performing arts centers, donate their time and evaluate the young musicians’ performances.
Each student musician is allotted a total of 10 minutes to play two pieces, one classical and one contemporary, of his or her own choosing. A three-judge panel then evaluates the performer’s intonation, tone, rhythm, technique and interpretation. At the end, the judges fill out an assessment form, a copy of which is later provided to the performer.
The Concert
The top three competition finalists and those who may have received an honorary mention from each age group and category, advance to the concert where they perform one of their chosen pieces, as recommended by the panel judges. They also receive certificates and prizes.
At the end of the concert, all musicians who participated in the competition, but did not perform at the concert, are invited on stage and receive certificates for their participation.
“The drunk driver who killed my daughter Liana said he had gone drinking, because he was bored,” says Dr. Cohen.
“My daughter was never bored. She played the piano, painted, read and studied, learned languages.
“She helped everyone. Liana always brought joy to those around her.”
Through Wednesday night’s concert at the Skirball, the foundation brings together talented musicians who are not bored.
Their music brings back a breath of fresh life, bearing witness to the power of human creativity.
Information is available at www.lianacohen.org.
Dr. Cohen may be contacted at www.atelierdeparis.com
