I have been an enthusiastic amateur musician all my life, starting with two songs I sang solo in kindergarten, songs I still remember. ("Red and orange, green and blue, shining yellow, purple too! All the colors that I know live up in the rainbow.") I wrote my first original songs in my mid 40’s, because a woman at a Quaker retreat told me I had to. I said that I could try, but she got in my face and said “There is no try. You must do this.” She sounded like Yoda from Star Wars. It seemed far fetched, but I wrote my first song in the car, on the way home from Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Until then it had never occurred to me to write my own songs.
I have had three major focuses in life: friends and family, being a psychotherapist, and relishing being a singer/songwriter. Stage fright can pop up, but once I get out there, joy and enthusiasm take over and I want to share the music I love with the audience. I strongly believe that performing is actually about being yourself, about being authentic. You do have to be good at what you do, but success is all about connection, not perfection. If something emerges that actually is perfect, well, that's an extra bonus.
My first singing lessons were with a well-known opera coach in New York City: his studio was literally next to Carnagie Hall. But I always preferred folk music. At age 16, my parents bought me a guitar and I taught myself to play basic chords. At that time, public interest in folk music was on the rise! What life direction to take? A singer? A psychotherapist? I chose both. I became a clinical social worker in Boulder, Colorado, and have been blessed to have a robust private practice for over 50 years, in my home office. However, my passion for music has continued to brighten my life. It's so exciting to get old, and still improve! I am so lucky. I am relatively intact at almost 82, and strongly believe that personal growth is still on the table for those who embrace it. Regarding songwriting, when a creative channel opens, it’s a little like being possessed, in a good way. And sometimes writing a song is a slow slog. Both can work.
I write story songs about colorful characters, about tragedies, about love, about connection with God/spirit, and about things that matter, like eating dessert. I hope that my songs invite you to find hope when needed, to laugh, to appreciate being human, and sometimes even to learn a history lesson. I have loved these varied parts of my life! Being able to help people with their emotional issues as a therapist and also playing music has been and still is a source of great joy.
Over the years, I have recorded six albums of original music with an occasional cover. I have become an adequate guitarist, with the help of an excellent teacher some years ago, but always yearned for the opportunity to just sing, while someone else with talent, heart, and skill would play guitar. Lucky me: this has happened. Turns out that my good friend Rob Chirico has wanted to be half of a duet with a good singer. Bingo! A dream come true. Rob and I have a vocal and instrumental dance going, in which each piece of the music compliments the other and the whole becomes much more than the sum of its parts.