I love music. I'm not a very good instrumentalist; as a child I studied piano and guitar privately, and recorder in school, but didn't have much native talent nor gained much skill. As a vocalist, though, I am both skilled and reasonably talented. I'm most comfortable in the baritone range, but can sing bass and second tenor as well. In college, I sang at various times with the oldest college chorus in America, the all-male Harvard Glee Club; the mixed Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum; a barbershop quartet; and a small close-harmony group.

These days I'm not doing much singing, at least not outside the confines of my shower and my car, but I listen to a lot of music, and have very eclectic tastes (as I seem to have in most things). My music collection is heaviest on women's voices; singer/songwriters, folk, new age and Celtic; and what used to be called alternative but sometimes now is deemed adult progressive. Recently I've also been drawn more and more to particular music from the 40s, 50s and 60s -- electronic, exotica, jazz, lounge crooners and divas.

Selected Genres and Artists

	Celtic Music
	Folk Music
	Country and Western Music		I particularly like bluegrass, but also some contemporary artists to whose music I can two-step)
	Ultra-Lounge Label		Cool collections of exotica, space-age electronica, mambo, samba, cha-cha, cocktail music, lounge singers, tiki and polynesian, organs, sax, bongos, etc.
	Tori Amos
	ABBA		Of course
	Anuna
	Jann Arden
	The B-52's
	Barenaked Ladies
	Ben Folds Five
	Better than Ezra
	Mary Black
	Boiled in Lead
	Jim Brickman		Beautiful piano music, with a heartstirring vocal accompaniment on "By Heart," the title track of his second release. A gorgeous man, too.
	Jonatha Brooke [formerly with The Story]		Jonatha's voice reminds me somewhat of Sarah McLachlan's, and the pieces on this album are influenced by jazz, folk and mainstream pop. The song "Inconsolable" on Plumb alone is worth the cost of that CD. 10 Cent Wings, her second release, had to grow on me, but now I prefer it to Plumb. I'm not as fond of Steady Pull, her 2001 release.
	Kate Bush		I was introduced to Kate Bush's music by a college boyfriend. "Man With the Child in His Eyes" still brings a pleasant nostalgic shiver.
	Capercaillie
	Mary-Chapin Carpenter
	Deana Carter
	Eliza Carthy
	Clannad
	Paula Cole		Another emotional, intense female voice
	Shawn Colvin
	Concrete Blond
	The Corrs		An interesting mix of pop with Celtic instrumental folksongs
	Counting Crows
	Crash Test Dummies
	Dead Can Dance
	Deep Blue Something		Generation Xers who are familiar with the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's can't be all bad
	Dixie Chicks
	Enya
	Melissa Etheridge
	Melissa Ferrick		Interesting... two Lesbian artists named Melissa in a row
	Béla Fleck (and the Flecktones)		Plays banjo like nobody's business. And awfully cute to boot.
	Gaelic Storm		The party band in steerage from Titanic. Truly awesome live. I saw them at the Birchmere, a great venue in Alexandria, Virginia.
	Gin Blossoms		20-something angst... another category of music that seems to be popping up more frequently in my collection, though I'm well out of my 20s
	Nanci Griffith
	Kristen Hall
	Indigo Girls
	Mary Karlzen		Mary Karlzen is described as a country singer, but she's really got an impressive stylistic range. When I have to peg her down, I'm reminded most of Maria McKee of Lone Justice.
	k.d. lang
	Patty Larkin
	Leahy
	Annie Lennox
	Julie London
	Dave Matthews Band
	Kathy Mattea
	Loreena McKennit
	Sarah McLachlan
	Natalie Merchant
	Alanis Morissette		Ok, I admit it... I like Alanis. Her lyrics may be more than a trifle, um, adolescent, but there's no denying the powerful emotion behind them.
	Alannah Myles
	Stevie Nicks
	October Project		The lead singer had a wonderfully haunting voice, the group used complex and layered harmonies, and the lyrics were intelligent and intense. I saw them in concert Saturday, December 30, 1995, at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. It was a truly amazing experience. Unfortunately, October Project has since disbanded, but two of the founding members briefly formed a new group, November Project, which also has disbanded.
	Joan Osborne		An incredible bluesy voice in the alternative pop genre
	Gretchen Peters		Another female singer-songwriter, Gretchen is much more country than I used to favor, but I find that my tastes are starting to expand to include a little country music. I may have my ex-boyfriend Greg and his 2-step lessons to thank for that.
	Bonnie Raitt
	R.E.M.
	Sixpence None the Richer
	10,000 Maniacs
	They Might Be Giants
	This Mortal Coil
	3 Mustaphas 3
	Travis
	Vertical Horizon
	Rufus Wainwright
	Cheryl Wheeler
	Trisha Yearwood
	Warren Zevon