CIM names Scott Price, Diana Cohen winners of 2023 Distinguished Alumni, Alumni Achievement Awards 

Out of the thousands of remarkable people who’ve left its halls to great success, CIM this year has chosen two to elevate with special honors.  

Scott Price (MM ’91, Hecht) winner of CIM’s Distinguished Alumni Award, is a pianist and educator focused on children with special needs. Diana Cohen (BM ’01, MM ’11, Kantor/Smirnoff/Preucil/Weilerstein), winner of CIM’s Alumni Achievement Award, is concertmaster of Canada’s Calgary Philharmonic and co-founder of the festivals ChamberFest Cleveland and ChamberFest West, in Calgary.  

“Although we go through an intensive consideration of many nominees, the choice of Diana and Scott this year was not difficult,” said Scott Harrison, executive vice president and provost of CIM. “They work in very different arenas but both are applying their CIM training in creative, meaningful ways and helping others to engage with music. Their careers are examples of what we wish to honor and celebrate, as models for our students and our community.” 

Price and Cohen will receive their special awards this spring during CIM’s Honors Convocation ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, May 19. Both will be featured as keynote speakers at the ceremony and perform that evening at CIM’s third annual Luminaries Benefit Concert.  

The Distinguished Alumni Award honors alumni who have attained the highest stature in their field. The Alumni Achievement Award, meanwhile, recognizes significant professional contributions to the field of music. Awardees join a storied group of past alumni award recipients spanning CIM’s 102-year history.  

“Scott and Diana are the living fulfillments of the CIM standard,” Harrison said. “They’re remarkable artists who’ve taken their degrees from CIM and used them to build more resilient communities. We’re proud to be associated with them and honor their work in this way.” 

ABOUT THE WINNERS

Scott Price  

Scott Price is the Carolina Distinguished Professor of Music and coordinator of piano pedagogy at The University of South Carolina. He is in steady demand nationwide as a performer and educator. He created and served for 23 years as editor-in-chief of the Piano Pedagogy Forum and has recorded 39 albums of educational music with Alfred Publishing Company. In recent years he has gained renown and garnered numerous awards as a specialist in training students with special needs, developing curriculum and other materials related to autism and other cognitive challenges. His former students have performed with The University of South Carolina Symphony and presented at conferences around the world. Price was named a Foundation Fellow by the Music Teachers National Association and winner of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy Outstanding Service Recognition Award. In 2020, he was recognized as a Carolina Distinguished Professor, the highest recognition given to faculty at The University of South Carolina.

Diana Cohen

Diana Cohen has been concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012. She also remains active as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing regularly with orchestras throughout the Midwest and at some of nation’s most prestigious festivals including the Marlboro Music Festival and Ravinia Festival. She has toured and recorded as a member of the prize-winning Trio Terzetto and has performed with the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, East Coast Chamber Orchestra and The Knights. Cohen is co-founder of the highly-regarded chamber music festivals ChamberFest Cleveland and ChamberFest West. A devoted teacher, Cohen has worked in public schools and regularly presents masterclasses wherever she is performing. During the pandemic, Cohen and her husband, pianist Roman Rabinovich, presented numerous outdoor garden concerts for their neighbors in Calgary.