Carmine Di Biase, who was born and raised in Ohio, has played violin for the Gadsden Symphony Orchestra and the Jacksonville State Civic Symphony for over twenty-five years. He also performs regularly in the pit orchestra for the JSU Opera Theatre and with other small ensembles for special events such as weddings and receptions. Among his childhood teachers, in Ohio, was Gerald Rosenbaum, who played for many years with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In Jacksonville, Di Biase studied violin with John Maltese, and is currently pursuing advanced violin studies with Joseph Ortiguera at Montevallo University. Di Biase’s Ph.D. is in English Literature, which he taught at Jacksonville State from 1993 till 2021. Having retired from teaching English, he is now dedicating most of his time to the violin. In addition to playing the violin, he is also a connoisseur of the instrument, which he loves even as an art object. He restores and repairs old violins, and performs much of the maintenance on the instruments of the Etowah Youth Orchestras. In 2021 Di Biase completed the Suzuki Association’s “Every Child Can” teacher training seminar.