Painting by Karen Richter (2007)

My musical education began with piano lessons at age 7 and classical violin at 8. During high school I gave up violin, bought my first guitar and began to sing. I studied voice at Pomona College and the University of Illinois while majoring in Chemistry. I taught Chemistry at St. Olaf College (Minnesota) for 28 years and was active in the Northfield Arts Guild, singing lead roles in summer musicals and opera workshops. I moved to Seattle in 1996 as research professor at the University of Washington, and picked up the violin again to become a fiddler. I later retired to begin a new career as an unemployed folk musician (something I can now afford!).

With Victory Music I helped set up open mics and an acoustic music venue in north Seattle, and write a monthly column, "Musical Traditions," for the Victory Review. I am a member of the Haller Lake Arts Council and chair of their Performing Arts Committee. I have produced CDs: “Paddy Graber – The Craic Was Great” (2004), songs by an Irish traditional singer and story teller from Vancouver, B.C.; “Songs of the Pacific Northwest” (2005), original and traditional songs of the Pacific Northwest sung by various regional musicians; and my own CD, "Erin's Green Shore" (2007).