Diana Golden

Cellist Diana Golden is an unusually versatile player, performing with symphony orchestras, chamber groups, opera and musical theater companies, pop artists, and more, as well as teaching in various settings. She has the unusual specialty of Haitian art music. One of a set of triplets, Golden was born in Dennis, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod on November 7, 1983. Her father was a physician. Golden attended Cornell University, earning a B.A. in English, and received a bachelor's in cello performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She traveled to London for a master's degree with distinction from the Royal Academy of Music. Golden's primary teachers included Jean Michel Fonteneau, Mark Kosower, Felix Schmidt, and Jonathan Spitz; she has also studied with Bernard Greenhouse, Matt Haimovitz, and others. In 2017, Golden earned a doctoral degree from Rutgers University, writing her dissertation on Haitian art music. She has frequently performed a recital of Haitian music for cello and piano. Golden has performed at major venues around North America, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. As a chamber player, Golden is a member of the Red Door Chamber Players on New York's Long Island and the Golden Williams Duo, with violist Gregory Williams; the latter group specializes in newly composed music. Golden is principal cellist with the Parlando orchestra in New York, and she has performed concertos with the Albany Symphony, Richmond Symphony, and Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Golden has performed with crossover group the Irish Tenors and with pop star Michael Bolton. She is a frequent guest at summer festivals in the U.S. and abroad, including the Killington Music Festival and the Zephyr and Musica Lozzo festivals in Italy. Golden is the founder of Boston's Firebrand Concert Series, where she was artistic director for three years. In 2020, Golden and pianist Shawn Chang released Tanbou Kache, an album of Haitian music. Golden's career as an educator began while she was a graduate student at Rutgers, where she coached chamber groups and taught cello. She founded and remains the director of the Red Door Chamber Partners Educational Program and is on the cello faculty of Utah's Mountain Springs Music Festival. Her interest in Haitian music was stimulated by time she spent working for Open Access to Music Education for Children, a center serving Boston's Haitian community.
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