Diane Lesser is one of the top studio recording oboists in the country. She is the principal oboist of the New York Pops, Amici New York, Greenwich Symphony, Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra and the National Chorale. She can be heard frequently as principal oboist of Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, the Oratorio Society, St. John the Divine’s Great Music in a Great Space, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, St. Ignatius Loyola’s Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, the Grace Church Choral Society, and she plays English horn with the Little Orchestra Society. Ms. Lesser performed on the Grammy nominated recordings of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road and Uri Caine’s The Passion of Octavius Catto with Kent Tritle and the Oratorio Society.
Active in the world of commercial music, Ms. Lesser can be heard on recordings accompanying Cynthia Erivo, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Lena Park, Barry Manilow, and Paul Simon. She has played on numerous soundtracks including Maggie’s Plan, The Forgotten Kingdom, Excuse Me for Living, and Remember Me. Ms. Lesser has also been heard on TV’s Chris Matthews Show, Ugly Betty, and Good Morning America while accompanying Andrea Bocelli. In addition, she has played hundreds of television and radio commercials such as Coca Cola, General Electric, Budweiser, Lucky Charms, Nasonex and Reynold’s Wrap.
Ms. Lesser has performed at the OK Mozart Festival, Caramoor, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia’s Mann Center and Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, as well as in Asia, Europe and South America.
She has played at diverse venues such as the Grammy Awards, Sesame Street, the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, Z100’s Jingle Ball, Gracie Mansion and at the White House. In 2015, she played at the Madison Square Garden Mass for the visit of Pope Francis, in 1995 in Central Park for Pope John Paul II , and for several of Hayden Planetarium’s Space Shows.
Diane Lesser received a Bachelor’s of Music degree from the Juilliard School where she was the winner of the Wind Soloist competition and studied with Robert Bloom. She received a Master’s of Arts degree from Queens College where she won the Concerto Soloist competition and studied with Leonard Arner.
She made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center with Alexander Schneider and the New York String Orchestra, and she toured for 20 years as principal oboist of the Brandenburg Ensemble conducted by Mr. Schneider and Jaime Laredo. Ms. Lesser performed as a recital soloist at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and at the University of Pennsylvania as the only oboist ever selected by Affiliate Artists.
Ms. Lesser performed in the Roundabout Theatre production of She Loves Me at Studio 54 under the baton of Paul Gemigniani, and with Roger Daltrey and The Who during the summer of 2018. She was previously the principal oboist of the Eos Ensemble, Long Island Philharmonic and l’Orchestre des Portes Rouges.
Diane Lesser is one of the top studio recording oboists in the country. She is the principal oboist of the New York Pops, Amici New York, Greenwich Symphony, Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra and the National Chorale. She can be heard frequently as principal oboist of Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, the Oratorio Society, St. John the Divine’s Great Music in a Great Space, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, St. Ignatius Loyola’s Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, the Grace Church Choral Society, and she plays English horn with the Little Orchestra Society. Ms. Lesser performed on the Grammy nominated recordings of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road and Uri Caine’s The Passion of Octavius Catto with Kent Tritle and the Oratorio Society.
Active in the world of commercial music, Ms. Lesser can be heard on recordings accompanying Cynthia Erivo, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Lena Park, Barry Manilow, and Paul Simon. She has played on numerous soundtracks including Maggie’s Plan, The Forgotten Kingdom, Excuse Me for Living, and Remember Me. Ms. Lesser has also been heard on TV’s Chris Matthews Show, Ugly Betty, and Good Morning America while accompanying Andrea Bocelli. In addition, she has played hundreds of television and radio commercials such as Coca Cola, General Electric, Budweiser, Lucky Charms, Nasonex and Reynold’s Wrap.
Ms. Lesser has performed at the OK Mozart Festival, Caramoor, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia’s Mann Center and Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, as well as in Asia, Europe and South America.
She has played at diverse venues such as the Grammy Awards, Sesame Street, the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, Z100’s Jingle Ball, Gracie Mansion and at the White House. In 2015, she played at the Madison Square Garden Mass for the visit of Pope Francis, in 1995 in Central Park for Pope John Paul II , and for several of Hayden Planetarium’s Space Shows.
Diane Lesser received a Bachelor’s of Music degree from the Juilliard School where she was the winner of the Wind Soloist competition and studied with Robert Bloom. She received a Master’s of Arts degree from Queens College where she won the Concerto Soloist competition and studied with Leonard Arner.
She made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center with Alexander Schneider and the New York String Orchestra, and she toured for 20 years as principal oboist of the Brandenburg Ensemble conducted by Mr. Schneider and Jaime Laredo. Ms. Lesser performed as a recital soloist at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and at the University of Pennsylvania as the only oboist ever selected by Affiliate Artists.
Ms. Lesser performed in the Roundabout Theatre production of She Loves Me at Studio 54 under the baton of Paul Gemigniani, and with Roger Daltrey and The Who during the summer of 2018. She was previously the principal oboist of the Eos Ensemble, Long Island Philharmonic and l’Orchestre des Portes Rouges.