Biography

Born in 1957 in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, Diane taught herself guitar during long winter evenings, her feet perched against 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.

Diane moved to the Boston area to earn a degree in elementary education at Boston College, then a graduate degree in communications at Lesley College. She honed her stagecraft at the wealth of folk venues in the Boston area, and her first cassette of six original songs received much local radio airplay. She supported herself as a freelance editor, working for various publishers and magazines in the Boston area. Over several years at Houghton-Mifflin, she worked on the Peterson field guides, learning a frightening amount about western reptiles and amphibians, moths and butterflies, and Atlantic Coast fishes.

In the late 1980s Diane studied guitar with 12-string master Tracy Moore and polished her vocal skills at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge. She created some striking songs on the lap dulcimer that make the most of its quirky charm. She also fell for the quirky charm of her husband, John, whom she married in 1991.

The First CD
In 1993 BCN Records released Diane's CD Shoes That Fit Like Sand, which includes one of her most popular songs, "Raisin Pie." Also in 1993 Diane joined the Gloucester Hornpipe & Clog Society, a band that performs maritime, Celtic, and Colonial music on a wealth of traditional instruments (fiddle, flute, guitar, accordion, banjo, whistle, dulcimer, mandolin, washtub bass, bones, spoons, bodhran and a unique instrument called the pogo-cello). In 1995 the Wizmak label released the band's CD Airs From Who Knows Where.

In 1994 Diane and John welcomed Laura Cecilia to the world. During her pregnancy Diane recorded four songs for a BCN Records compilation CD, The Songs of Jack Hardy. That year took her to South Carolina for a concert arranged by a devoted fan.

In 1996 BCN Records released Gathered Safely In. The title cut uses the classic form of repeated second and fourth lines to encourage singing along. Other cuts included a dark take on Steve Goodman's "Lookin' for Trouble," sparked by an amazing harmonica solo by Chris Turner, and an intense dulcimer version of "Black is the Color (of My True Love's Hair)." Diane sings in French, interprets some Scottish songs with words by Robert Burns, and soothes the listener with "All Through the Night." The most surprising cut is "Heard It Through the Grapevine" -- yes, that one -- which after Tarazification becomes a folk song.

1999 saw the release of Diane's holiday CD, Hope! Says the Holly. Diane chose her favorite songs for mid-winter, including a wry version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," complete with sound effects. She added three new verses to the classic "In the Bleak Midwinter," transforming it into a Solstice song, and used the African calimba, or thumb piano, to accent "People, Look East" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."

Branching Out
Reflecting her love of history, Diane created a program called A Silver Dagger: Exploring Women's History Through Folk Songs. She sings very old songs in historic clothing, using the clues in ballads and folk songs to explore the lives of women in centuries past. In 2008 she recorded a companion CD of songs from the program.

When daughter Laura was about four, Diane began leading sing-alongs for babies and toddlers, a joyful activity she pursued for ten years at various libraries. For six years she led her own sing-alongs in a rented room at an Arlington church, and sold many copies of her "Toddler Songs" CDs. She became used to being recognized and beamed at by children of a certain age while out and about in Arlington.

Diane took a break from the Gloucester Hornpipe & Clog Society to record her fourth solo CD, Beat of the Heart, which came out in 2003. Another wide-ranging trip through time, the songs hail from Quebec, Ireland, England, and the U.S., including a bouncy version of "Froggie Went a-Courtin'."

In 2005 Diane rejoined the Gloucester Hornpipe & Clog Society. The band enjoyed several years of July 4 weekend concerts on Georges Island and brought its magic to historical events in Lexington and many towns. Summer concerts became a specialty, brightening summer evenings with songs, stories, and original compositions. Diane's "The Lady in Black" tells the story of the ghost of Fort Warren on Georges Island, and appears on the band's 2008 CD "Liberty!", which Diane produced.

In 2006 Diane was commissioned by the choral group In Choro Novo to arrange her song Silver the Moon for four-part harmony. This led to her embarking on arrangements of other Taraz songs for choral groups, including the UUlations, a womens' a cappella group drawn from her church choir (she coined the name).

That same year Diane satisfied a longtime dream and joined an early music group. She became a member of Vox Lucens, a 12-person Renaissance choir conducted by Jay Lane, which sings glorious music by Renaissance composers, a cappella. She participated in the group's 2008 CD "The Rarest of Gems" and performs regularly at churches and halls in the Boston area.

Also in 2006 Diane received a commission to create a quilt of Shaker themes as part of a project created by New England Voices. The project included two concerts, in Arlington and Amherst, and a CD. Diane sang in the chorus presenting Shaker songs and modern works inspired by Shaker music, including a new piece commissioned for the event. Diane's quilt hung as a backdrop for the Arlington concert.

Spending Time in the 18th Century
In January 2010 Diane was invited by the Lexington Historical Society to teach colonial-era songs to a group of singers who appear in period dress as guides and reenactors. She researched songs from the time, including many written to promote either rebellion or loyalty to the crown, as the group includes reenactors from both the British and American sides. She created sheet music for the group and runs weekly rehearsals, and directs them at various events run by the society.

Inspired by the variety and vitality of the songs brought to the group, Diane created a program similar to her "Exploring Women's History" program, calling it "Songs of the Revolution." She presents this program at museums and historical societies throughout Massachusetts. Performances have included Winslow House in Marshfield, the Sheffield and Holbrook Historical Societies.

In 2010 Diane created a companion CD for that program: Songs of the Revolution, a 21-song salute to the music of 1776. Jonathan Gilbert, her colleague in the Gloucester Hornpipe & Clog Society, contributed vocals and played recorders, whistle, mandolin, and viola. The songs, showing many aspects of life in the 1700s, were enjoyed by people at all levels of society -- masters and servants alike -- as the old order was swept away by new ideas of equality and the meaning of liberty.