Angie Irma Cohon (née Reinhart, born September, 1890,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Oregon, died 1991) was a Jewish author and educator, known for her seminal book, ''Introduction to Jewish Music in Eight Illustrated Lectures''.

Early life and education

Born to parents J.F. and Amelia (Marks) Reinhart in 1890, Cohon lived in Portland, Oregon until moving to Ohio at 19 to attend the

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

. She transferred to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1912. On June 12 of the same year she graduated, Cohon married Rabbi Samuel S. Cohon. They had one son, Baruch Joseph.

Works and legacy

Cohon wrote poetry. One of her early books, ''A Brief Jewish Ritual'', was published by Women of Mizpah in 1921. Most notably, however, were Cohon's contributions of the field of Jewish music in the English language. The National Council on Jewish Women published ''Introduction to Jewish Music in Eight Illustrated Lectures'', with a second edition coming out in 1923. This work became a basis for the council's study of music for nearly 30 years. She collaborated with another contributor to the field, A.Z. Idelssohn, on ''Harvest Festivals, A Children’s Succoth Celebration''. The American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati houses Cohon's papers and music manuscripts. The Rabbi Samuel S. and A. Irma Cohon Memorial Foundation Award, named for Cohon and her husband, "honors individuals for outstanding service to the entire Jewish people in the areas of rescue, unity, education or the creative arts." Irma's son has served as the chief financial officer, while her grandson has served president of the Cohon Memorial Foundation.

References

External links

A. Irma Cohon Papers
*http://www.cohonaward.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohon, Angie Irma 1890 births 1991 deaths American women non-fiction writers Writers from Portland, Oregon Jewish American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Jews Jewish women writers American ethnomusicologists Jewish musicologists