Diane Berger

Principal Piccolo

Diane has held the position of Principal Piccolo with the Opera Australia Orchestra since 1990. She completed her Bachelor of Music Degree (with Merit) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying with Rosamund Plummer. Further flute studies, made possible with scholarships from the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Trust for Young Australians, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Music Students Overseas Study Foundation (NSW), led to participation in summer schools and masterclasses in France with Jean-Pierre Rampal and Alain Marion followed by Graduate study at Indiana University in the US with Peter Lloyd and Kate Lukas. In 1993, Diane graduated with a Performer Diploma (with Distinction).

Diane is also a member of the wind quintet Quinterlude, the Tucana Flute Quartet, and Suridi Trio. She represents Haynes with her flute and plays on a Burkhart Piccolo.

Outside of music, Diane enjoys running, proudly having a personal best marathon time, equalling the performance time of Mozart’s Don Giovanni! Classical ballet, weight training and generally pushing the fitness boundaries are fun challenges.

Special OA memories include playing Der Rosenkavalier under the late conductor Stuart Challender AO and  playing piccolo in Handel’s Rinaldo from the upper loge area as a “bird”.