For decades Diane Taraz has been creating her own songs and breathing new life into traditional ones. She excels at a cappella singing, but also plays guitar and lap dulcimer, and on her many recordings has collaborated with a wealth of talented musicians.
Born in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, Diane taught herself guitar during long winter evenings, her feet perched on a wood-burning stove. She wrote her first songs in high school and began working her way through 100 English Folk Songs, a classic collection of ballads. She was captivated by the beauty and power of the melodies, and the way the words provide a glimpse into the past. After moving to the Boston area for college, Diane studied guitar with 12-string master Tracy Moore and polished her vocal skills at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.
Diane has recorded nine CDs that feature her many compositions and her vivid interpretations of traditional songs from England, Ireland, Scotland, French Canada, and America. She is the director of the Lexington Historical Society Colonial Singers, and she presents historic programs that focus on specific eras, including the American Revolution and the Civil War. She often performs as a guest with the Gloucester Hornpipe & Clog Society, a traditional band that plays maritime, Celtic, and Colonial music. She also sings with Vox Lucens, a 12-member a cappella Renaissance choir, and the UUlations, a women’s a cappella group.
http://www.dianetaraz.com
