After working too long in the corporate world, Diane decided to concentrate on her first love - music.  Enrolling at the University of Delaware, her studies under award-winning composer Jennifer Margaret Barker expanded her horizons and provided her with a new-found freedom of expression.  Her time at the university afforded her the opportunity to learn from such internationally acclaimed musicians as violinist Xiang Gao and jazz legend Donald Byrd.  Lectures and master classes with composers Jennifer Higdon, David Lang, Paul Richards, and Michael Torke further rounded out her education.  She had the privilege of having her piece "Shame, Guilt and Trickery" premiered by The Relâche Ensemble.  

In 2006, Diane was fortunate to be one of only two composers awarded a Billy Joel Fellowship.  This has allowed her to continue her graduate studies at Syracuse University in New York.  She is now studying with such composers as Daniel Godfrey, Nicolas Scherzinger, and Andrew Waggoner.  Recent master classes have introduced her to renowned composers Stephen Stucky, John Harbison, and Robert Morris.

Diane has also participated as a fellow at the Chamber Music Institute at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (2005).  She was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet and work closely with The Völs Quartet, who premiered her string quartet, "Second Pass."  That same year she was awarded the prestigious Grace F. and Theodore Berger Award from the University of Delaware.