Her Story
About Lara
Lara Cohen is a contractor working in both music and marketing. With about 15 years in music and over 10 years as a professional soloist, she finds performance opportunities and learns roles in operas, oratorios, solos, and professional choirs. She has been in marketing as an independent contractor for about 2 years. Cohen holds a bachelor's degree in arts and music and a master's degree in music. She has completed specialized operatic training and participated in a master class with Marnie Nixon. Her most notable achievement includes soloing for the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra in their Songs of Truth series. Cohen attributes her success to the teachings she has received, the leaders she has encountered, and her determination to have it all without letting music go. She advises keeping going through rejections and emphasizes that self-care is paramount. As a hybrid stay-at-home mom to two small children for five and a half years, Cohen describes her story as one of integrating career and family despite the challenges of finding steady work with appropriate pay and managing her schedule.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lara
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute just the teachings that I've received, the leaders that I've encountered. And the determination to have it all, just the refusal to let music go, as frivolous as it may seem at times.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
You don't have to win, you just have to not lose. Just to keep going. To take every rejection and put it in your pocket and just keep moving forward to the next one.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say that you belong. And to keep going. If you know you have something that is important to you, it's important to others, and to go after it as much as you can. Another thing is that self-care is paramount. You can't excel in a career or in your personal life without making sure that you have what you need personally.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Biggest challenges are finding steady work with an appropriate amount of pay. Marketing yourself is a difficulty in music. And also the schedule, the juggling of having two small children and being available to learn music, to present yourself professionally, and to make all of the times that you need to.
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