I Care If You Listen: 5 Questions to Yuga Cohler
Yuga Cohler has garnered attention as a conductor for brilliant performances and an organizer of highly inquisitive, and at times bold, performance projects. His membership in the Asia/America New Music Institute (AANMI) an organization dedicated “to promoting new music relationship between Asia and the Americas,” is yet another instantiation of these qualities.
The Atlantic: What Classical Music Can Learn From Kanye West
Since 2016, Feigenbaum and the conductor Yuga Cohler have periodically put on performances they call “Yeethoven,” including two in Los Angeles and one at New York City’s Lincoln Center. With a contingent of classical instrumentalists, they trace the similarities between the works of a 21st-century rapper/producer [Kanye West] and a 18th- to 19th-century composer.
Strings: Yuga Cohler on Forging a Career as a Conductor in Classical Music
Yuga Cohler is on a mission to disrupt the classical-music establishment. And he already has its attention. The 28-year-old conductor, who debuts as the music director at Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra (RSO) on May 5, gained international prominence last year with his project Yeethoven, an orchestral concert comparing the works of Beethoven and Kanye West that culminated in a sold-out show at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in January.
KUSC: Behind the Festival Uniting Classical and Electronic Music
The worlds of classical and electronic music come together this weekend in Little Tokyo. It’s all part of a concert and community arts festival hosted by the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Chamber Orchestra and dreamed up by YMF music director Yuga Cohler and composer Stefan Cwik. The event will combine the music of Igor Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten, and LA-based DJ and electronic musician Flying Lotus in a unique concert experience.
BBC Music Magazine: Yeethoven - Kanye Hear Us, Ludwig?
Beethoven and Kanye West are not two names you'd expect on the same concert bill, let alone spliced together. But conductor Yuga Cohler and his Young Musicians Foundation Debut Chamber Orchestra have had other ideas.
WQXR: Yeethoven - Great Minds Think Alike: Kanye West vs. Beethoven
After the success of 2016’s Yeethoven composer and arranger Johan and conductor Yuga Cohler have returned for Yeethoven II, a concert focused on the similarities between the artistry of Kanye West and Ludwig van Beethoven. Besides just having a great name — who wouldn’t want to explore the limits of that wondrous portmanteau — the creators of the project see it as a way to explore the ways in which artists at the top of their game can have a deep impact on the culture beyond their musical influence.
Ridgefield Press: Yuga Cohler takes over as Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra music director
After a search process that spanned two seasons and saw four exceptional finalists conduct concerts before large and enthusiastic audiences, the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra has named Yuga Cohler as the orchestra’s new Music Director.
MWA Quarterly: Notes on a 21st Century Virtuoso, Yuga Cohler
From music to tech, Yuga Cohler evades classification, using his brilliant mind to create innovative, one-of-a-kind experiences.
Time: How a Live Orchestra Is Mashing Up Kanye West and Beethoven
Rap icon Kanye West and classical legend Ludwig van Beethoven are, at first glance, polar musical opposites. But one project, dubbed Yeethoven, is bringing their music together in a bi-coastal mash-up concert that cuts through the distance of centuries and styles.
KUSC: What Happens When You Mix Beethoven and Kanye West?
The worlds of classical music and hip-hop may seem too far apart to ever come together in any meaningful way. However, two artists (and a youth orchestra) are looking to remix the way we think about these two different art forms: composer/arranger Johan and conductor Yuga Cohler, the music director of the Young Musicians Debut Chamber Orchestra.