Dallas Symphony Orchestra appoints two new musicians

MAURICE COHN
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

BRIAN HECHT
UTILITY TROMBONE

Posts Begin in 2021/22 Concert Season

DALLAS, TEXAS (April 5, 2021) – The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) today announced the appointment of Maurice Cohn as Assistant Conductor and Brian Hecht as Utility Trombone. These musicians were chosen after recent auditions, the first live auditions by a major orchestra this season.

“I am pleased to welcome these two musicians to the Dallas Symphony family,” said Music Director Fabio Luisi (Louise W. & Edmund J. Kahn Music Directorship). “It was a joy to watch Mr. Cohn lead the orchestra and hear Mr. Hecht in audition. I look forward to working with both of them beginning next season.”

The DSO has appointed Maurice Cohn as Assistant Conductor (Marena & Roger Gault Chair) beginning in the 2021/22 Season.  A 2020 recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Cohn is the Assistant Conductor of the Eastman Philharmonia and is a regular guest conductor with the Chicago-based contemporary ensemble Zafa Collective. He has served as Cover Conductor for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Conductor for the National Music Festival and a guest assistant at Oberlin Conservatory. A 2019 conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, Cohn was awarded the Robert J. Harth Conductor Prize and an invitation to return as a 2021 fellow. He recently received an M.M. from the Eastman School of Music, where he worked frequently with the Eastman orchestras and OSSIA New Music Ensemble. He holds a B.M. in cello performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a B.A. from Oberlin College, where he studied history and mathematics.

“The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Fabio Luisi are doing incredible work, both onstage and off, and I am honored and excited to join the DSO,” said Cohn.

Trombone Brian Hecht will join the DSO next season in a newly created Utility Trombone position. Hecht, a native of Dallas, joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Bass Trombone in September 2013. Prior to joining the Atlanta Symphony, he held the bass trombone position with the Premier United States Navy Band in Washington, DC.

He has performed with other major ensembles throughout his career including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra (under the baton of Simon Rattle), San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Baltimore and the Kennedy Center Ballet.

Hecht has been a featured soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, U.S. Navy Band, U.S. “Pershing’s Own” Army Band and Orchestra, the Armed Forces Octet at ITF 2018, Kennesaw State University Wind Ensemble, Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, STS Professor’s Choir, University of Texas Trombone Choir, University of Georgia Trombone Choir, University of Central Arkansas Trombone Choir, Texas State University Trombone Choir, Penn State Trombone Choir and the Georgia Brass Band. He can be heard on several of the U.S. Navy Band’s CDs and DVDs as well as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s CDs Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem and Christopher Theofanidis’ Creation/Creator.

He has been the recipient of numerous performance awards including first prize at the 2009 Zellmer-Minnesota Orchestra Trombone Competition, 2009 Edwards Big 12 Bass Trombone Solo Competition and the ETW’s 2009 Trombone Quartet Competition. In addition, he was a finalist in three major international competitions in 2009 including the ITA’s Edward Kleinhammer Competition, the Donald Yaxley Competition and the International Trombone Quartet Competition.

Hecht received his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he studied with Michael Mulcahy, Charles Vernon and Peter Ellefson. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Dr. Nathaniel Brickens. Other influential teachers include Jon Bohls of the Dallas Metroplex area and Charles Villarrubia at UT-Austin.

Brian has been a regular Guest Artist/Faculty at the Southeast Trombone Symposium since 2014. Most recently he was a Featured Artist at the 2019 Hungarian Trombone Bootcamp in Budapest, Hungary. In addition, he has been a Featured Artist at the International Trombone Festival, Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival (Jeju, South Korea), Korea Trombone Symposium (Seoul, South Korea), Jinbao International Music Festival (Tianjin, China), Festival of Trombones (Dallas, TX) and the American Trombone Workshop (Washington, D.C.).