An artist-educator with a strong interest in historically informed performance, Diane Bayard travels from the modern violin to the baroque violin, including the viola. A passionate chamber musician, Diane is a founding member of the Cobalt Quartet and has shared the stage with internationally renowned artists such as the Bozzini Quartet and the Debussy Quartet.

Cobalt is an artist-in-residence at the Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur for the 2022-2023 season and has been a collaborating quartet at Domaine Forget since 2018. The ensemble is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, the Conseil des Arts de Montréal, the Ministère de la culture et des communications du Québec, and the Père-Lindsay Foundation.

A graduate of the National Conservatory of Music and Dance of Lyon, Diane obtained the Certificat d'Aptitude as well as a master's degree in violin pedagogy. Committed to various projects in education, she has notably traveled to Haiti to share her passion and is also a faculty member at the International Academy of Music and Dance at Domaine Forget.

Diane obtained a master's degree in performance from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University under the guidance of JinJoo Cho, after completing her bachelor's degree in performance in the class of Annick Roussin, supported by several excellence scholarships.

Diane Bayard plays on an Antonio Gragnani violin from Livorno (1751) and a Victor Fétique bow (circa 1925) graciously provided by Canimex Inc. from Drummondville, Quebec, Canada.