Moshe Cotel

Moshe Cotel

Morris Moshe Cotel (1943-2008)

Morris Moshe Cotel was an acclaimed composer and pianist whose work has been performed in opera houses and concert halls all over the world, from New York to Italy, Israel, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

He composed his first symphony at the age of 13, graduated from Julliard where he studied with Vincent Persichetti and Roger Sessions, and was one of the youngest recipients of the American Rome Prize in Music Composition at the age of 23. His oeuvre includes opera, symphonic, choral, piano and chamber compositions. For many years, he was Chair of the Composition Department at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University.

In his 50’s, he followed a calling to enter rabbinical school and was ordained as a rabbi. He subsequently wrote and performed his one man show Chronicles: A Jewish Life at the Classical Piano in over 20 cities across the country.

Morris Moshe Cotel passed away suddenly in 2008. For more about his work, please see the full-length obituary feature in the New York Times.