Acclaimed as both a “young star” and “complete artist” by The New York Times and as “extravagantly gifted… poised to redefine what’s possible for singers of this distinctive voice type” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Nussbaum Cohen’s passion for creating performances of great vocal beauty and dramatic intensity has earned him a reputation as “a redefining force in the countertenor field” (Limelight).

Recent seasons have taken him to many of the world’s greatest theaters and orchestras: The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera, Ballet, and Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, La Monnaie de Munt (Brussels), Salzburger Festspiele, Adelaide Festival (Australia), Komische Oper Berlin, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Ars Lyrica Houston, Indianapolis Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic. He has enjoyed collaborations with conductors Nicholas McGegan, Patrick Summers, Masaaki Suzuki, James Gaffigan, Dame Jane Glover, Nicholas Carter, Richard Egarr, Laurence Cummings, David Bates, Christopher Moulds, Hans Graf, and Harry Bicket.

Nussbaum Cohen finds a close affinity between the ancient musical traditions of his Jewish heritage and the Baroque works comprising much of his operatic repertoire. Equally invigorated by performing new works, his first commercial recording project—the world premiere of Kenneth Fuchs’ Poems of Life performed with the London Symphony Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta—was honored with a GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Compendium in 2019. His interpretation of the Refugee’s aria from Jonathan Dove’s Flight served as the centerpiece for his extensive catalogue of competition successes, including winning the Grand Prize at the 2017 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, top prizes in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum and the Dallas Opera Guild Competitions, a George and Nora London Foundation Award, the Richard Tucker Study Grant and Career Grant, and in 2024, the top prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation’s International Vocal Competition.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University, along with academic certificates in vocal performance and Judaic studies, Nussbaum Cohen became the first countertenor in the history of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. He is also a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler Fellowship Programs and the Wolf Trap Opera Studio.

In recent years, Nussbaum Cohen has given masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of Michigan, Buffalo Philharmonic, and his alma maters, Princeton University and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of the Arts. He currently resides in Northern California with his wife Abbi and son Elliot, where he serves as Western Region Soloist Representative on the board of the American Guild of Musical Artists.