Mimi Dye, violist, violinist, composer, and Artistic Director of TOPAZ, is well-known to Bay Area audiences as a soloist, chamber musician, and jazz performer. 

Ms. Dye received her B.A. from Mills College and her MA from Brooklyn College, where she was a student of Itzhak Perlman. She presented her New York debut recital at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and was presented by Four Seasons Concerts in her San Francisco debut at Herbst Theatre. 

Ms. Dye has appeared as soloist with the Carmel Bach Festival, San Francisco Chamber Players, New York String Ensemble, Nova Vista Symphony, Palo Alto Philharmonic, and the Baroque Chamber Players, and is an artist-in-residence at the Yachats Festival in Yachats, Oregon. 

Ms. Dye has performed with many jazz musicians, including Eddie Gale, Wayne Wallace, Terry Disley, and Peter Barshay. Her numerous orchestral credits include playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, touring with Barbra Streisand, and recording movie scores in Los Angeles. 

Her compositions include an album of solo viola works (“Angel Songs of Mimi Dye”), two chamber jazz suites (“Gracias a Dios” and “Paradise Dreams”), two jazz tunes, and a song for youth chorus and orchestra (“Twinkling Stars Trumpeting”). Ms. Dye has released three of her own CDs; "Spiritual Songs of Hildegard," “Mimi's Classical Favorites,” and “Angel Songs of Mimi Dye.”