PSO violinist releases Christian CD

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"Soli Deo Gloria" - "To God Alone the Glory" was the inscription over the choir loft at St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig, Germany, when J.S. Bach was its cantor.

Now it's the title of the latest compact disc produced by a member of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra.

Diane Sullivan is in her 30th year as a violinist for the symphony. But her musical talents extend beyond that to include viola, voice and the harp. She performs in all four capacities on her new, self-produced CD.

"Choosing between violin and voice in college (Arizona State University) was difficult for me," Sullivan says. "I chose to major in violin and take a minor in voice. I've never regretted the decision."

She recently added harp to her panoply of skills, after years of loving the instrument from afar. The disc is a product both of Sullivan's musicianship and her spiritual beliefs: "Whenever I've played music for an offertory at my church (Camelback Bible Church), I think, 'It's time to make a Christian classical music CD.' "

Sullivan, who was struck with multiple sclerosis at age 30, performs with the PSO in the company of her dog, Oakley. Oakley is pictured on the cover of the CD, with Sullivan.

The only other performer on the 16 tracks of Soli Deo Gloria is pianist Walter Cosand. Together they perform music by Bach, 19th-century opera composer Jules Massenet, 20th-century American master Ernest Bloch and the great harp virtuoso Marcel Grandjany, among others. Those others include . . . Diane Sullivan.

"It's fair to say there are few musical instruments I've heard that I didn't like," Sullivan says. "I'm a musical junkie, I guess. To me, classical music is a form of expression that comes straight from the heart."

She adds, however, that she is "not particularly fond of the sound of the sackbut" - the noisy, 16th-century forerunner of the trombone.

Soli Deo Gloria is available at all Borders Books and Music stores, at the PSO Gift Shop (open during intermission at performances of the orchestra) and many Christian bookstores. Sullivan will appear in performance, and to sign copies of her CD, at 7 p.m. Monday at Borders, 7000 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix.

- Ken LaFave