Diane Monroe is a violinist whose expressive artistry has touched audiences in both worlds of classical and jazz. Ms. Monroe's visibility as a jazz artist began with her long-standing membership as first violinist of the Uptown String Quartet and the Max Roach Double Quartet, seen on The Cosby Show, CBS News Sunday Morning, and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Her compositions and arrangements were highlighted here, and in performances in major concert halls and festivals throughout the world. Recordings with these ensembles include the Soul Note, Philips/Polygram, and Mesa/ Bluemoon labels.

During her tenure with the String Trio of New York, she collaborated with Saxophonists Joe Lovano and Oliver Lake. She has also performed with Reggie Workman, Kenny Barron, Anthony Davis, Uri Caine, John Blake, Jim Ridl, Regina Carter, Mark O'Connor, and the U. of Oregon @ Eugene and Philadelphia U. of Arts jazz bands. Ms. Monroe's jazz festivals include the Mellon, Peco, Cool, North Sea, Barcelona, and the Montreux Jazz Festival presentation in Central Park, New York City in 1998. She was a soloist in the original Fiddlefests at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Switzerland's Tonhalle, and the Apollo Theater. In "Jazz at Jennings", a benefit performance sponsored by the late Peter Jennings, Monroe performed with jazz greats Percy Heath, Jimmy Cobb, John Faddis, Shannon Gibbons, Renee Rosnes and Wycliff Gordon.

In 2000, she was conductor of the Fiddlefest Jazz Orchestra at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, featuring violin soloist, Kennedy. As an educator she teaches at Temple University, and has given workshops for the coveted East Harlem Violin Program and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. The esteemed composer/pedagogue David Baker is presently writing a violin concerto for Ms. Monroe, and she has recorded Baker's Sonata for Jazz violin and String Quartet with the Oregon String Quartet, soon to be released on Koch Records.

Ms. Monroe can be seen in the documentary film, "Small Wonders," and the most recent movie, "Music of the Heart", starring Meryl Streep. A Philadelphia native, Monroe is a Curtis Institute of Music and University of the Arts graduate, and has taught at Oberlin Conservatory, Swarthmore College, and Temple University. She received the 2002 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and is currently a Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour roster artist.

For more information on Diane Monroe, visit www.monroesbow.com.