Published: Bald Yogi on August 24,2015
Written by: Deborah Charnes
Mike Cohen was a professional saxophonist until he heard kirtan. Today, he tours as a kirtan musician, and coaches students in the domains of musicianship, leadership, spirituality, energetics, chant writing and community building. His students have gone on to create thriving kirtan communities in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Boulder, Cincinnati, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada.
He recently shared his thoughts about Kirtan Leadership with The Namaste Counsel.
In Kirtan There Is No Audience
Back in my teens and twenties I was a professional saxophonist. Those were incredible years, with many exciting and wonderful experiences. Although I was a professional musician, during that time I had experiences of being judged, compared and even shamed around my singing or musical ability. Partly this was a result of the time I spent inside an institution which held very high standards.
Kirtan taught me to relax the notions of performance and the role of performer…
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