Diane Harper

Chamber Orchestra

Diane Graves Harper retired in June, 2022, as the orchestra/mariachi specialist for the Fort Worth Independent School District. A native of Nashville, Tenn., Harper received her bachelor of music education and masters in violin performance from the University of Louisville. She did post-graduate work in string music education at the University of Michigan under the supervision of professor Robert Culver.

Harper has been an orchestra music educator for more than 35 years and has taught in Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia and Texas.  She has variety of orchestral-teaching experiences that cover elementary, secondary and collegiate levels. 

Harper began her Texas teaching career in 1999 in Fort Worth as orchestra director at Paschal High School and McLean Middle School. Under her direction, both schools received their first varsity UIL sweepstakes. In 2005 she moved to the Arlington ISD and took the position of head director at Young Jr. High School, where her orchestras consistently won UIL sweepstakes and the Young Symphony Orchestra was a Texas Honor Orchestra finalist in 2008. Her groups also took Best in Class and earned Division I ratings at the Peak and Ovation Music festivals for several years. Harper is very active as a string orchestra adjudicator and clinician in the North Texas area.

She holds memberships in the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, American String Teachers Association, Mu Omicron and is a provisional member of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association.