Diane Gilbert

Viola, Assistant Principal

Diane Gilbert is a violist and teacher, working in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara as well as Ventura County, where she has lived for the past 20 years.  She received her Bachelor of Music in viola performance from University of the Pacific and then came to Southern California for graduate school, getting her Master of Music degree in viola performance from California State University, Northridge and studying with Alan deVeritch.

In addition to playing with SBCO, Diane is assistant principal violist of the New West Symphony and principal violist of the Santa Barbara Opera, as well as a member of both the Santa Barbara Symphony and California Philharmonic.  She has also played principal viola at the Ahmanson Theatre for the past fifteen years, performing in shows like Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, The Lion King, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, Follies, and many others.

Diane has had the privilege of performing and recording with a variety of artists, from Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Yehudi Menuhin, Andre Previn, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Rostropovich to Elton John, Barry Manilow, Leonard Cohen, Bernadette Peters, Andrea Bocelli and Stevie Wonder.