Cantor Jen Cohen

Cantor Jen Cohen grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, and earned a B.A. in East Asian Studies, Magna Cum Laude, from Yale University. She then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and toured the U.S. playing universities and clubs, recording two CDs, and earning nominations for Campus Entertainer of the Year three years running. With a love of Jewish music and transformative experiences in volunteer and interfaith work while in Nashville, she entered the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, where she explored the intersection of her pop music background and the traditional melodies of the synagogue.

Upon investiture as a cantor in 2009, Cantor Cohen transitioned from her student pulpit at Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill, NJ, to her full-time position there, where she has proudly served since. Of the many projects she has been part of at TBS, one that brought her particular fulfillment was her visits to 600 member households during our moment of peak social distancing – April-September 2020 – for her “6ft TBS House Calls.”

At JTS commencement, Cantor Cohen received the Women’s League of Conservative Judaism Kol Isha Award, and in February 2010, she was named to Chancellor Arnold Eisen’s task force to restructure the cantorial school at JTS. She currently serves as an officer of the Cantors Assembly and as the cantorial representative on the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Division of Religious Leadership lay board.

Cantor Cohen is a member of the musical group Divas on the Bima, founded at Temple Beth Sholom in 2010, and tours the US and Canada with this group of wonderful cantors. She is thrilled to call Temple Beth Sholom her home and enjoys travel, comedy, design, photography, and her chihuahua, internet-famous muse, Biscuit.