received her Masters degree in Viola from The Yale School of Music in 1984. She is the founder of Veretski Pass and is the principal violist in Orchestra New England and assistant principal in The New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Cookie teaches klezmer fiddling at Living Traditions' KlezKamp and The Albuquerque Academy, has been on staff twice at Centrum's Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Wash., and teaches a klezmer class at Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, Connecticut. She has performed with Theodore Bikel, The Klezical Tradition, The Klezmatics, Klezmer Fats and Swing with Pete Sokolow and the late Howie Leess, Kapelye, Margot Leverett and The Klezmer Conservatory Band. She is a founding member of Veretski Pass, The Youngers of Zion with Henry Sapoznik, and has recently joined Budowitz. She has presented lecture demonstrations and workshops on klezmer fiddling all over the country, including at Yale University, University of Wisconsin in Madison, University of Oregon in Eugene, Pacific University and SUNY-Cortland. She was featured on the ABC documentary, “A Sacred Noise”, heard on HBO’s “Sex and the City”, and on several recordings including the Koch International label with Orchestra New England in “The Orchestral Music of Charles Ives”, The Klezical Tradition's “Family Portrait” and Adrianne Greenbaum’s “Fleytmuzik”. She is also active as a Holocaust educator and curriculum advisor and has been a frequent lecturer at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Niantic, CT. Cookie lives in Madison, Connecticut.