About ThisWorldMusic
Founded by Boston-based percussionist, composer and teaching artist Jeremy Cohen, ThisWorldMusic partners with educational institutions and arts organizations to offer innovative, hands-on cultural learning experiences. Clients include: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory, The University School of Milwaukee, Citi Performing Arts Center and school districts nationwide, including Memphis, TN; Oakland, CA; Providence, RI; and Worcester, MA.
A passionate educator, he designed and implemented a comprehensive African drumming curriculum at the Boston Arts Academy Performing Arts High School and at the Umana Middle School, located in inner city East Boston. As music director at the Umana, he also established a multi-genre guitar program and set up a fully integrated music technology lab.
“The workshops Jeremy has produced and led for us have consistently been of the highest quality, and always leave our participants clamoring for more.”
-Emilio Gonzalez, Boston Symphony Orchestra
Still active in the classroom, he works at ZUMIX Community Music School and with incarcerated youth through the non-profit Unlocking the Light. He is Adjunct Professor of Music at Central Connecticut State University (graduate level), University of Southern Maine (graduate level), Westfield State University and UMass Amherst (graduate level), where he designs and leads short-term African Drum & Dance Study in Ghana programs.
He sits on the Young Audiences of Massachusetts Board of Directors and has consulted for The School District of Philadelphia and for MusicianCorps, the flagship program of The Center for Music National Service.
A California native, he graduated with a B.A. in Music from U.C. Berkeley, where he studied traditional Ewe drumming with Ghanaian master drummer C.K. Ladzekpo. Awarded the Alfred M. Hertz Traveling Fellowship to study composition in New York City, he went on to attend New England Conservatory of Music where he earned a M.M. in Composition.
Mr. Cohen continued his Ewe drumming studies in Ghana under Emmanuel and Rubben Agbeli and was a member of the Agbekor Drum & Dance Society, an ensemble led by David Locke of Tufts University.
When he isn’t leading workshops around the country or study abroad courses in Ghana, he enjoys composing and practicing at home.
