Sivan Cohen Elias Appointed Assistant Professor of Composition
Following a national search, the School of Music is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Sivan Cohen Elias as Assistant Professor of Composition/Technology Emphasis. Her appointment begins in Fall 2022.
“It is a great honor to be appointed in this role. I am excited to join the wonderful faculty and student community at the University of Minnesota,” said Cohen Elias. “I am enthusiastic to foster a creative atmosphere and incorporate new technologies based on current compositional methods and an interdisciplinary, interactive, and collaborative approach.”
“Dr. Cohen Elias brings a distinguished record of artistry and teaching, as well as a distinctive compositional voice,” said Alex Lubet, Head of Creative Studies and Media at the School of Music.
Dr. Cohen Elias is currently an adjunct instructor at New York University in the Music Technology Program. Prior to that, she was Visiting Assistant Professor of Composition and Electronic Media at the University of Iowa from 2018 to 2021. She holds a Master of Music with High Distinction from Tel Aviv University and a PhD from Harvard University, and she completed post-graduate study at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Her international reputation as a composer includes a Fromm Commission (2020), a first-prize commission in opera from Staatstheater Darmstadt (2016/2015), the Boost! Project Prize from the Darmstadt International Summer Course (2012), and an Ernst Von Siemens Foundation commission (2009), among other achievements. She is highly regarded as an innovative developer of applications in music technology, particularly for music theater, and an active performer and improviser with live electronics.
“We are thrilled that Dr. Cohen Elias is joining the School of Music faculty, said Interim Director Gwen Freed. “She has distinguished herself internationally as both a groundbreaking creative artist and an exceptionally dedicated teacher and mentor. We look forward to working with her.”
