Name Jonathan Cohen | Role Presenter | |
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A little joy by jonathan cohen
Jonathan Cohen is a British pianist, composer and musical director.
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He is particularly well known for his work on many BBC children's programmes from the 1960s to the 1990s, including Play School, Playbus (latterly Playdays), Play Away, Rentaghost and Jackanory. He frequently appeared as a pianist on programmes such as Play Away and also presented some of the musical items.
In the latter part of his career he became heavily involved with the BBC Schools service, most famously co-presenting Music Time with Helen Speirs. This was a popular, long-running series aimed at primary school children that focused on teaching singing and instrumentation. First broadcast in 1970, it was presented by Cohen from 1983 until the final series in 1991. He also had prominent roles on several other BBC Schools series aimed at older Junior children, notably the award-winning series The Music Arcade (1979-1986), and Into Music.
In 2005 he staged a theatre production called Still Playing Away alongside former Play Away presenter Brian Cant, which was a trip down memory lane of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
He leads the annual Christmas Carol Singalong at the Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, using his own arrangements of traditional Christmas songs and carols.