Joshua Coyne
Encyclopedia
Personal Biography
Joshua was born in Kansas City, MO. He was adopted at age two and moved to Cedar Rapids, IowaCedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
. The Coyne family was involved in the local arts community, participating in community theater and the Cedar Rapids Symphony. Joshua quickly expressed interest and aptitude in music and took his first lessons at the Cedar Rapids Symphony School, where he studied with Dr. Stephen Shepherd and later with concertmaster Taki Horiuchi. Later, Joshua and some of his family moved to the Washington, DC area, where he continued his violin studies with Lya Stern
Lya Stern
Lya W. Stern is a violinist, recording artist and violin teacher. Born Lya Weiss to a Jewish family in Cluj, Romania, Lya Stern moved to the United States as a teenager...
and began composition study.
After moving to D.C., Joshua performed for then candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
at the Stand for Change Rally, as well as for the Haitian Embassy.
Coyne composed the score to Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett is a play by Janet Langhart Cohen. The play details an imaginary conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank which takes place in Memory a non-specific afterlife or alternate dimension...
, a play about Emmett Till
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
and Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
written by Janet Langhart Cohen
Janet Langhart
Janet Langhart Cohen is an American model, television journalist and author. She serves as President and CEO of Langhart Communications and is the spouse of former Defense Secretary William Cohen...
. The premiere of the play was to be held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
but was canceled due to a shooting
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting was a shooting at that nation's memorial to The Holocaust in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 2009, at 12:50 p.m. Security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns, 39, was shot, and later died from his injuries. Suspect James Wenneker von Brunn, 88, was charged...
earlier that day.
In the summer of 2011, Joshua was the subject of a series of articles describing the difficulties students may have getting scholarships, loans, and grants, to be able to afford college. As a result of these articles, Joshua received numerous donations which allowed him to attend Manhattan School of Music.
Joshua plays on a custom bow by Joshua Henry, and a violin he named Lya for his teacher, made by Joseph Curtin
Education
- Violin instruction by Lya SternLya SternLya W. Stern is a violinist, recording artist and violin teacher. Born Lya Weiss to a Jewish family in Cluj, Romania, Lya Stern moved to the United States as a teenager...
, herself a student of Jascha HeifetzJascha HeifetzJascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
and Raphael BronsteinRaphael Bronstein-Early life:He was born in a Jewish family in Vilnius, Lithuania and studied violin with Leopold Auer at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He arrived in the United States in 1923 to take a job as an assistant to Auer. Mr. Bronstein had one daughter, Ariana Bronne, who taught at the Manhattan School...
, who were in turn students of Leopold AuerLeopold AuerLeopold Auer was a Hungarian violinist, teacher, conductor and composer.-Early life and career:... - Composition instruction from Judah Adashi at Peabody InstitutePeabody InstituteThe Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
- Composition instruction from Joel Hoffman, chair of the composition department at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of CincinnatiUniversity of CincinnatiThe University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
- Composition mentor Marvin HamlischMarvin HamlischMarvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
- Graduated from Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, Maryland)
- One of two conservatory students accepted in 2011 into the Manhattan School of MusicManhattan School of MusicThe Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
composition department
Performances
- Performed for 13,000 at Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's Rally for Change - Performed the role of Tom Collins in RentRent (musical)Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
at the 2009 American High School Theatre Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland - Performed a solo concert at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage
Compositions
- Composed the score for Anne and EmmettAnne and EmmettAnne and Emmett is a play by Janet Langhart Cohen. The play details an imaginary conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank which takes place in Memory a non-specific afterlife or alternate dimension...
a play by Janet Langhart CohenJanet LanghartJanet Langhart Cohen is an American model, television journalist and author. She serves as President and CEO of Langhart Communications and is the spouse of former Defense Secretary William Cohen...
about Emmett TillEmmett TillEmmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
and Anne FrankAnne FrankAnnelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt... - Daydream a composition which won Gold at the NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific OlympicsAfro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific OlympicsThe Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics is a youth program of the NAACP that is “designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African American high school students.” The year-long program recognizes and awards young...
. - Composed True Love a three movement ballet
Awards
- Named one of Bethesda MagazineBethesda MagazineBethesda Magazine is a bimonthly magazine distributed in Montgomery County, Maryland which began in 2004. It is named after the prosperous suburban area Bethesda, Maryland...
's 2011 Top Teens - NAACP ACTSO Gold
- Discus AwardsDiscus AwardsThe Discus Awards is a U.S.-based national high school awards and recognition program. Students receive a Discus Award if they excel in different key attributes. Discus Award winners are eligible for a $2,000 scholarship. Ten $2,000 merit-based college scholarships are given out every school year...
scholarship winner
Other
- Subject of a article describing the difficulties students may have getting funding for college.