Joanne Bernstein-Cohen is the Executive Director of The Little Orchestra Society, New York City’s premier Orchestra dedicated to bringing innovative concerts of classical music to adults and children alike. She previously served as a consultant to, then General Manager of, The Little Orchestra Society, and was responsible for overseeing last season’s world premiere of the wildly popular Cinderella and the Prince Who Slays the Magic Dragon, the celebrated New York premiere of Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead and the critically acclaimed Vivaldi’s Venice adult concert series. She works closely with the Orchestra’s longtime Music Director, Dino Anagnost.

Joanne Bernstein-Cohen has a long history with the Orchestra that dates back to when she studied with Dino Anagnost at Columbia University. For five years, starting in 1987, she served the Orchestra as Manager for Artistic Operations, Education and Marketing, helping to foster numerous artistic partnerships, shape the Orchestra’s arts education programming and launch innovative concerts for children and adults.

For nine years, Joanne Bernstein-Cohen served as Executive Director of Young Audiences New York, one of the city’s oldest and largest arts-education organizations exclusively serving New York City public schoolchildren. She grew the organization into a pre-eminent leader in arts education, shifting focus from auditorium performances to comprehensive in-class residencies in music, dance and fine arts among other disciplines. Ms. Bernstein-Cohen tripled the number of programs, greatly expanded staff, successfully completed a $5 million campaign and identified new revenue streams to fulfill the expanded mission of the organization.

Ms. Bernstein-Cohen studied at New York City’s High School of Music and Art and later earned degrees from Barnard College and Teachers College, Columbia University. She began her career as a high school music teacher and worked at the New York Committee for Young Audiences, the 92nd Street Y and The Cleveland Orchestra, where she served for 5 years, including as Interim Director of its Educational Activities Department. Ms. Bernstein-Cohen also worked for five years as the Deputy Director of Programs for ArtsConnection, a prestigious arts education organization. Most recently, she consulted for Columbia University’s School of the Arts, where she assisted in shaping the program development and strategy for the School’s presence at the Sundance Film Festival as well as its New Play Festival. She is the co-author of the children’s book Stravinsky and the Firebird with Becca Ruben Smith.

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