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Cobi Ashkenazi is a PhD candidate at the RCM’s Centre for Performance Science and a recipient of a Doctoral Studentship from the London Arts and Humanities Partnership. Cobi’s doctoral research investigates antagonistic muscular co-contraction in the context of healthy, skilled piano playing.

A native of San Mateo, California, Cobi earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music, respectively. He also holds a diploma in Injury-Preventative Keyboard Technique. In 2021, he earned his MSc with distinction in Performance Science from the RCM, where his research explored multisensory perception of piano timbre. Cobi’s areas of inquiry also include Jungian musicology and piano design. Cobi has recently spoken on his research at the International Symposium for Performance Science (ISPS 2023 Warsaw) and also at the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC 2023 Tokyo).

Cobi’s recent professional engagements include as Graduate Teaching Assistant (Performance Science MSc programme), Assistant Coordinator (International Symposium on Performance Science), Copyeditor (on a forthcoming publication by Routledge), Project Researcher (Mozarteum University Salzburg), and Research Assistant (University of Surrey).

Noted by International Chopin Piano Competition winner Garrick Ohlsson as an excellent musician, Cobi has performed at venues throughout the United States in solo, chamber, and choral settings, collaborating with notable musicians and vocalists. Cobi received top prizes in state competitions and performed at festivals including Pianofest in the Hamptons and the Aspen Music Festival. His instructors have included Sharon Mann, Julian Martin, Nina Scolnik, and Daniel Shapiro, in addition to lessons with artists including Leon Fleisher, Garrick Ohlsson, Jerome Lowenthal, and Awadagin Pratt.

Cobi enjoys spending time as a composer and amateur piano technician. When not at the piano, his hobbies include handtool woodworking, photography, and gardening.

Faculties / departments: Research

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