Diana Gannett is currently retired as Professor Emerita of Double Bass at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Previous appointments include the faculties of Yale University School of Music and the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut, the Oberlin College Conservatory in Ohio, and the University of Iowa where, as President of the International Society of Bassists, she hosted the 1999 ISB convention. Gannett did both her Masters and Doctoral degrees in Musical Arts at Yale University with virtuoso Gary Karr, then went on to team-teach with Karr for several years.
As a chamber musician, she has performed with the artists of the Guarneri, Emerson, Laurentian, Stradivari, Maia, Stanford Quartets, and the Borodin Trio. Her solo appearances have included many contemporary premieres and solo improvisations as well as traditional repertoire. In recent years she performed and taught in Scotland, Taiwan, Poland, and Brazil as well as Israel. She has recorded several solo and ensemble CDs.
The International Society of Bassists has awarded her with both the 2017 Teaching Recognition Award and their highest award in 2019 for Distinguished Achievement.
Instrument building has always been a passion for Diana. She worked with luthier Carleen Hutchins of the Catgut Acoustical Society on several instruments. The original Catgut bass is a copy of a Carcassi with tuned plates. Diana owns this instrument and has built her own copy of it. Diana has commissioned basses from other innovative builders such as Mario Lamarre and Jean Auray. She is playing tonight on her “Venus” bass built by Mario Lamarre.