Avron R. Coleman of Warwick, NY, passed away on July 15, 2026, at Westchester Medical Center. He was 95 years of age. A native New Yorker, he was born in Brooklyn, NY, on November 21, 1930. He was the son of Albert and Esther (nee Ershowsky) Coleman.
Mr. Coleman attended the Juilliard and Manhattan Schools of Music where he received scholarships to study the violoncello. Mr. Coleman had the privilege of claiming as teachers: the distinguished Hermann Busch, Leonard Rose, Bernard Greenhouse, and Emil Hauser, founder of the original Budapest String Quartet.
Mr. Coleman began his artistic career with the Minneapolis Symphony under Antal Dorati. Returning to New York, Coleman worked with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra. He then served with the New York Philharmonic for 10 years during Leonard Bernstein's tenure. After resigning from his position with the Philharmonic, he continued to participate, by invitation, in the Philharmonic's annual tours to Russia, New Zealand, and Australia working as a substitute cellist under Zubin Mehta and Kurt Mazur. During his long musical career, Coleman had the privilege of serving with the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokovsky. He also served for a period of time with the New York City Opera.
In addition to having been principal cellist with the Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra, Mr. Coleman served as the principal cellist for the American Ballet Theater, the Martha Graham Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada. He traveled on tour with these major ballet companies and orchestras throughout North America, Europe and the Near and Far East.
While enjoying the flexibility of freelance work, Mr. Coleman performed with numerous Broadway shows including the hit musical “Hello, Dolly!” He enjoyed successes in the commercial and pop music world; his versatility as a musician led him to serve with the Frank Sinatra orchestras. Additional work in musical performances and movies include, “The Addiction”, and “The Cellist”, a documentary featuring Mr. Coleman and his unique approach to musical expression.
A zeal for chamber music, nurtured at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, led to his playing in numerous ensembles (Trio Cantilena, Degen Quartet, Princeton String Quartet, The Berkshire Chamber Players, The Knickerbocker Players, and the Rachmaninoff Trio). In addition, he performed as soloist in concerto and duo-sonata programs.
Locally, Mr. Coleman performed a benefit concert with colleagues of the New York Philharmonic to raise funds for the Warwick Valley Humane Society. He was also a guest artist for a performance with the Monroe-Woodbury School’s orchestra. He has performed for church services in the Hudson Valley, in addition to ensemble and orchestral performances throughout the Tri-State area. Throughout his career, Mr. Coleman made recordings with the orchestras and chamber ensembles of which he was a member.
His passion for expressing musical grammar and musical sentence structure was all-consuming. He enjoyed teaching, instilling in his students self-discipline, while nurturing creativity and independent thinking. His life was a life well-lived, filled with the joy of beautiful, harmonious sound.
On a personal level, everyone loved Avron – family, friends, colleagues, neighbors. He had a gift for making a person feel as though they were the most important person in the world. His infectious storytelling, humor, thirst for knowledge, zest for life, and humility, shall always be remembered and cherished. Those who knew him are blessed to have been graced by his generous, kind, and loving spirit.
Avron Coleman is survived and missed by his beloved wife and dearest friend, Jacquelyn J. Pruiksma. He is missed by his beloved cats Willow Thomas and Noël Hopkins; rescued and retired racing greyhound Coby, AKA King Cobra; nephews Robert Hoffman of Hillsborough, CA and Kenneth Hoffman of London, England; and the Pruiksma and Veit families. He was predeceased by his parents, sister Diana Hoffman and brother Shepard Coleman.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Avon's memory to the Warwick Valley Humane Society (http://www.wvhumane.org) or Greyhound Rescue and Rehabilitation (http://greyhoundrescuerehab.org) would be deeply appreciated.
Private arrangements were made.