Mary Cohen

Mary L. Cohen completed her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate of Philosophy in music education at the University of Kansas and has ten years of experience teaching general music and leading choirs in the Lawrence and Kansas City areas. Dr. Cohen has completed two levels of Orff-Schulwerk Training, participated in Dalcroze training, Laban Movement Analysis training, Creative Motion workshops, and Alexander Technique study. She has a joint position with the Teaching and Learning Department and the School of Music at the University of Iowa. Her general research area is choral singing and well-being, with particular emphasis on music programs in prison contexts. 

Mary L. Cohen is a Professor of Music Education at the University of Iowa, lead author of Music-Making in U.S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices, co-leader of the International Music & Justice Inquiry Network: IMAJIN Caring Communities, and music group facilitator inside the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center. From 2009 to 2020 she led the Oakdale Community Choir with incarcerated and non-incarcerated participants. She co-leads the Singing Love into Life Circle, collaborating with local reentry organizations. She has been a keynote in Germany, Canada, and Portugal, interviewed by BBC3 Music Matters, and completed over 40 publications in journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings