photo: Eric Hayden

Diane Jones has received commissions from Mélomanie, the Society for New Music, the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, the Syracuse International Film Festival, and Trio Casals. Her work with Samba Laranja has garnered three SAMMY awards (Native Orange, 2011, Pathways, 2014, and Guaraná, 2019), and she has two new commissions (a new work for tenor Dominick Corbaccio, and a full-length ballet for the Syracuse City Ballet) to be premiered in 2023. She has also completed five residencies in Syracuse area public schools. Her music has been released on the Navona Records, SUR, and International Musicians Network labels. 

Jones is the Program Manager and mid-day host on WCNY-FM, Central New York’s Classical Radio Station, and the creator, host, and producer of “Feminine Fusion,” a nationally-syndicated weekly program highlighting women in the classical music world. She is the former President of the Society for New Music, and her music has been featured on Fresh Ink, the weekly new music broadcast produced by the Society. She will be hosting a Music Educators Award series with WCNY in the fall of 2022. 

A recipient of the Billy Joel Fellowship, a fellowship with the Chamber Music Institute at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and awarded the prestigious Grace F. and Theodore Berger Award from the University of Delaware, Jones has also been inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda, the music honor society. Active as a performer as well as a composer, Jones regularly performs with Laranja, plays contrabass flute with the Central New York Flute Choir, and performs with the 315 Ensemble. She has played flute and piccolo in regional orchestras, and was one half of the flute duo, Flutes of Fancy. 

Jones is privileged to have studied with outstanding composers Daniel S. Godfrey, Nico las Scherzinger, and Jennifer Margaret Barker.

Albums

London Cello Connection

Release Date: March 10, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6514
21st Century
Orchestral
Cello
Orchestra
Eight exceptional composers, eight premiere recordings with a legendary orchestra, and one spectacular soloist: LONDON CELLO CONNECTION is a captivating compendium of contemporary compositions by celebrated cellist Ovidiu Marinescu and the London Symphony Orchestra with conductor Miran Vaupotić. Marinescu’s emotive, lush sound and superb technical command provides the continuous thread throughout the program, from the elegant “Sarabande” by Marvin Lamb to Arthur Gottschalk’s regal “Brunetti Meditations” to the shimmering, pulsing “Soul Dance” of Diane Jones, connecting and contrasting each of these works and others by John Robertson, Katherine Price, Joanna Estelle, L Peter Deutsch, and Keith Kramer. Recorded in June 2022 at the LSO’s St. Luke’s Church, the historic site on London’s Old Street which dates to 1733 and was restored to become home to the orchestra’s recording, community, and music education programs.

Moto Eterno

Release Date: March 26, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6341
21st Century
Chamber
Piano Trio
Ten international composers showcase their respective styles on MOTO ETERNO, the latest installment of NAVONA's successful MOTO chamber music series. Like the previous MOTO releases, MOTO ETERNO is the result of a wide-ranging Call For Scores and a scrupulous selection process. Acclaimed piano trio Trio Casals (Ovidiu Marinescu, cello; Alexandr Kislitsyn, violin; Anna Kislitsyna, piano), masterfully perform their favorite picks.

Moto Celeste

Release Date: January 24, 2020
Catalog Number: NV6266
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Cello
Piano Trio
In MOTO CELESTE, the fifth installment in Navona Records’ MOTO series, the internationally-acclaimed Trio Casals takes on eight new works by eight preeminent composers. It is an electrifying collection, full of drama and adventure. The compositions borrow from an eclectic array of musical traditions, including rhumba and flamenco music. MOTO CELESTE is forged into a cohesive work by the trio’s sensitive and highly-organic performances.

Moto Bello

Release Date: May 11, 2018
Catalog Number: NV6156
21st Century
Chamber
Piano Trio
Navona Records and the acclaimed ensemble Trio Casals proudly present MOTO BELLO, the next chapter in the moving series that brought 2015’s MOTO CONTINUO and MOTO PERPETUO in 2013. Living up to its name, MOTO BELLO, or “beautiful motion,” is a collection celebrating the synergy of Trio Casals and the vibrant works of ten contemporary composers including Diane Jones, Beth Mehocic, David N. Stewart, Sidney Bailin, L Peter Deutsch, Giovanni Piacentini, Adrienne Albert, Clive Muncaster, Joanne D. Carey, and Bruce Babcock.

Moto Continuo

Release Date: July 10, 2015
Catalog Number: NV6003
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Cello
Piano Trio
Praised for his "bold and expressive" playing (Gramophone Magazine), cellist Ovidiu Marinescu and Navona Records present MOTO CONTINUO, a collection of six contemporary solo cello and piano trio works - from the intense, dark, and expressive to the calm, light, and austere - performed by Marinescu and his colleagues from Trio Casals, violinist Sylvia Ahramjian and pianist Anna Kislitsyna.