violinist, presenter, educator

A passionate ambassador of classical music, Monique Mead has kindled excitement in new listeners as a violinist, pedagogue, and concert presenter in Europe and the United States.

Chamber music study in Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship, and European tours with Leonard Bernstein and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival inspired a multi-faceted career focused on making classical music accessible to audiences of diverse cultures.

Monique Mead received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Indiana University, where she studied violin with Nelli Shkolnikova and Franco Gulli, and chamber music with Josef Gingold. From 1992 to 1995 she held positions as Associate Instructor for Violin at Indiana University and Director of the Indianapolis Academy of Music.

In 1996 she moved to Germany, where she gained widespread recognition as a performer and presenter of youth and family concerts, gaining sponsorship from Audi, Bayer, Dresdner Bank, BASF, and Opel, as well as the American Consul General.

Through television appearances, a radio series with the Munich Radio Orchestra, and as a frequent guest of the Cologne Philharmonic, Düsseldorf Symphony, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Berlin Radio Choir, Bochumer Sinfoniker, Munich Symphony, and Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, among others, her programs have drawn national attention for their ingenuity and popular appeal.

During the 2006 Soccer World Cup, Monique Mead toured Germany with performances of her “Fussball a Tempo” program, which was also released on CD by the Bavarian Radio.

In the United States, she performs chamber music, presents concerts, leads seminars, and develops education projects for organizations such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, Mainly Mozart, and the Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where she and her husband, Andrés Cárdenes, serve as Music Directors.

She has performed as a soloist with the Philharmonia Hungarica, Krakow Radio Orchestra, Philharmonie der Nationen, and the Mexico State Symphony.

In addition to her “Fussball a Tempo” CD, Monique Mead’s recordings include “Mother Goose meets Father Bach” on the Rounder Records label, a romantic violin CD with the Philharmonia Hungarica, “Great Violin Miniatures” for violin and piano, as well as 3 CDs with music and children’s stories in German. She performs on a violin made by Niccolo Amati in 1687.

Monique currently resides in Pittsburgh, where she raises her two young children and also teaches violin at the Preparatory School of Carnegie Mellon University.

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