Monique Mead

Violinist, presenter, educator

Biography 2013

A passionate ambassador of classical music, violinist Monique Mead has developed a multi-faceted career as a performer, presenter, pedagogue, and consultant. Inspired by her collaborations with Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Mead has devoted her career to building new audiences for orchestras, choirs, and music festivals in the United States and Europe. Her programs have drawn international acclaim for their popular appeal and innovative educational approach.

In 2012 she joined the faculty as Director of Music Entrepreneurship Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, where she is devoted to helping the next generation of musicians develop innovative career paths and create new relevance for classical music.

Working for the Pittsburgh Symphony as Consultant for Integrative Strategies, Monique Mead spearheads initiatives that build passionate new audiences and create meaningful partnerships with musicians, conductors, and soloists.

Since 2010, she has taught violin at CMU’s Music Preparatory School and has held seminars on music appreciation for CMU’s Osher Lifelong Learning Program.

Monique Mead graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University, receiving Bachelor and Master of Music degrees as a student of Nelli Shkolnikova and Franco Gulli. She also studied chamber music with Josef Gingold and received a Minor in Violin Pedagogy from Mimi Zweig. In 1992, Mead was appointed Director of the Indianapolis String Academy and served as an Associate Instructor for Violin at Indiana University. She also performed regularly with the Indianapolis Symphony.

In 1997 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, Ronald McDonald House, BASF, and Opel, as well as official endorsement by the American Consul General.

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

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

In the United States, she performs chamber music, presents concerts, leads seminars, and develops audience-building projects for organizations such as the Pittsburgh Symphony, 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, Port Angeles Symphony, 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 by Niccolo Amati in 1687, graciously made available to her by Carnegie Mellon University.

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