"a deep-flowing river of a voice" (Sing Out! magazine)
Diane Taraz writes songs and breathes new life into traditional ones. Her elegant voice brings out the essence of whatever style she presents, be it folk, jazz, blues, standards, or classical pieces. She plays Taylor and Santa Cruz guitars, and keeps taking her lap dulcimer to unexpected places.
Diane sings with the Copley Singers and also with the Concord Women's Chorus. She directed the Lexington Historical Society's Colonial Singers from 2010 to 2024. For more about her activities over the years with this group, click on LHS Colonial Singers in the green box.
Singing the Past to Life
Diane creates programs that use the music of an era to show the inner lives of people who lived long ago. Women, especially, left few records of their existence, but the songs they used to speed their work, lift their spirits, or ease an aching heart let us peek into their lives. Diane is on the Scholarly Advisory Board of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, based in New York City, and brings her programs to museums, universities, libraries, and historic houses.
Robert A. Perry, Executive Director of the Charles River Museum of Industry in Waltham, Mass., says, "Diane does an extraordinary job weaving together history and performing arts through storytelling and beautiful song. Her meticulous research, musicianship, engaging presence, sense of humor, period costumes, and professionalism allow her audience to lose themselves in a delightful experience that transports them to another time. New England historical sites and history buffs are incredibly fortunate to have Diane Taraz in our midst to bring our past to life!"
Marilyn Jackson, audience member, wrote to Diane, "What a wonderful concert! Your knowledge of history, your sense of humor, your acting ability, your musical talent, and of course your glorious voice were all so good today. Domestic history is so much more interesting than battles, politics, kings, etc. Your research is so valuable."
Diane has begun recording her programs, which can be seen on YouTube. "Music videos" in the green box has links.
Diane's Books
Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other outlets.Across the Wild Atlantic -- Tracing a Family Through 400 Years. The fascinating details of Diane's ancestors form a rich tapestry of culture, language, religion, social movements, and identity.
To order a copy, click here.
Daughter of the Waves, the Victorian Life of Celia Laighton Thaxter. A look at life before all the conveniences we take for granted, such as hot and cold running water!
To watch a video about it, click here.
To order a copy, click here.
Candace -- Imagining the Life of a Woman Enslaved in 18th-Century New England. Lifting into the light a woman who spent her life on a tiny island, setting her in the midst of a sea of facts about the family who enslaved her, the fishing village in which she lived, the Colonies before the revolution, and a world lit only by fire.
To watch a video about it, click here.
To order a copy, click here.
For more information, click on the links in the green box.
