Diana Wade
viola
Violist Diana Wade likes to make strange sounds, usually on the viola. In a recent performance of Berio’s Sequenza VI, Diana was praised for playing with “both athletic and operatic ferocity” and “throwing herself into tremolo passages with a physical force that shook her and a sonic one that practically shook the walls” (Mark Swed, LA Times). If none of this is ringing a bell, then you may recognize her for saying “Shia LaBeouf” in that internet video.
Violist Diana Wade likes to make strange sounds, usually on the viola. In a recent performance of Berio’s Sequenza VI, Diana was praised for playing with “both athletic and operatic ferocity” and “throwing herself into tremolo passages with a physical force that shook her and a sonic one that practically shook the walls” (Mark Swed, LA Times). If none of this is ringing a bell, then you may recognize her for saying “Shia LaBeouf” in that internet video.
Diana enjoys a richly varied musical life that she is cultivating in Los Angeles. Not only can she be heard recording for film and television, but also performing with ensembles such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, wild Up and appearances in series such as Jacaranda, Tuesdays @ Monk Space, and the Hear Now Music Festival.
Recently, Diana has found herself turning to composition. Her bizarre vocal fry extravaganza “Fry on Fry” has been tickling audiences all along the West Coast. Current projects include a new work for the duo So Much Hot Air, an arrangement of Garth Knox’s Jonah and the Whale for Diana and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Beattie, and a piece for two performers and one 25 foot long drainage tube. This season, Diana has been invited to attend the retreat Artists at Albatross Reach as a violist and composer where she will be collaborating with fellow artists on the development of weird, fun new work.
Formerly a founding member of the Argus Quartet, Diana has collaborated with Anthony Dean Griffey, David Shifrin, and the Brentano Quartet and worked with composers such as Christopher Theofanidis, Martin Bresnick, Andrew Norman, and Thomas Kotcheff in the performance of their music.
Diana holds degrees and certificates from Temple University, Cleveland Institute of Music and University of Southern California and she studied with CJ Chang, Jeffrey Irvine, and Donald McInnes. Diana plays on a viola made by Tetsuo Matsuda in 2004 that she’s lovingly named Fernando. In the rare moment that she’s not playing viola, Diana enjoys writing lists, running, and wishing she were an opera singer.
