Richard Cohen, 79, a multi-instrumentalist and composer, died on May 6, 2025 in New Rochelle, New York. He had been a member of Local 802 since 1967. Richard was a talented musician and composer with a prolific history across numerous genres. He studied clarinet and sax at Mannes with Joseph Allard.  He also studied clarinet with Les Scott, flute with Harold Bennett (of the Met Opera), and bassoon with Harold Goltzer (of the New York Philharmonic) and Dan Shelley (of the Met Opera). He enjoyed musical collaborations with Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Peter Brook (including “The Conference of the Birds” project), Ellen Stewart and Elizabeth Swados, among others. 

Richard’s career was rich and eclectic. He performed in musical theatre orchestras — including Broadway and Off Broadway — and at prestigious venues and festivals, including the Concertgebouw for the Holland Festival, the Teatro Ciao Melissa for the Spoleto Festival and the Venice Biennale. He performed in three iterations of “The Pirates of Penzance” — the Broadway musical, the movie, and the cast album with Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline. He was a regular in the pit at the Paper Mill Playhouse through the 1990s and late 2000s. He played in the jazz ensembles of McCoy Tyner and Gerry Mulligan. He performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Metropolitan Soloists Chamber Ensemble, Cedar Lake Dance Company, Martha Clarke Dance Company and five seasons of “Shakespeare in the Park” at the Delacorte Theater.

Richard enjoyed composition as much as performance. He composed music for several shows with Arthur Adair (and others) at LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club, including a production of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” and an original piece titled “Your War’try Grave.” He worked on original music for a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Public Theater, and found great joy in writing “La Ribalta,” an operetta, with Brain Leys.

Richard was also a revered music teacher to the students at PS158. His sense of wonder and appreciation for the little things in life were contagious and will be missed by his friends and family.  He approached life with such sincerity that his accidental humor was impossible not to love. Richard is survived by his treasured daughter Molly Cohen as well as beloved nieces and cousins. He was preceded in death by his brother Jay, sister-in-law Shirley, sister Avis, parents Leo and Eva, and Molly’s mother Janee Albert.

Obituary submitted by Molly Cohen