I grew up in a musical family – some of my earliest memories are of sitting next to my mother on the piano bench, singing and playing along while Mom played Mozart and Chopin, hymns from various Christian traditions, and selections from the Fireside Book of Folk Songs.  This was a daily occurrence in the Alexander household; consequently, I learned to read music well before I could read words.  

I studied piano and music theory and sang in school choirs throughout my public school years, and was introduced to violin study and the magic of orchestral playing when I was in fourth grade.  By the time I reached ninth grade I had set aside the violin, and I took up the cello.  I immediately fell in love with the rich, evocative voice of that instrument, and a few years later earned a Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance.

I moved to Michigan in the fall of 1985 to study piano technology – I’ve been a self-employed piano tuner-technician for well over 20 years now – and in January of 1986 I founded Sistrum, the Lansing Women's Chorus, which I directed for the next 15½ years.  During that time I completed a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting.  

For the past twelve and a half years I have been the Director of Music and director of the adult choir at the Unitarian Universalist Church in East Lansing, a role in which I take great delight.  

I love to explore and perform in many different musical genres, and I have been a member of three bands in the past 10 years: Women at Play (a Grand Rapids-based world-beat improv band), the Treble Makers (an a cappella close harmony quartet), and The Bench (an eclectic multi-instrumental band).  I sing and play cello, fiddle, recorders, piano, Melodica, percussion and, more recently, ukulele and electric bass!

In the past few years I've done some studio work with various area artists - my cello tracks are on recent releases by Barb Barton, Bob Marshall, Kitty Donohoe, Annie and Rod Capps, Lyn Sawicki, Judy Insley, and Kate Peterson. 

In the fall of 2007 I began a delightful new collaboration with Catherine Ellis and Alma Muxlow, who make their home in Kalamazoo.  Catherine's been playing guitar, singing, and writing wonderful songs for a long time, and Alma sings, writes songs, and plays the mandola and percussion.  We're having a great time making music together, and we have found our name: Carmea (kar-MAY-uh).  It contains each of our first and last initials, and it is also a form of a Latin word meaning song, poem or incantation.  Check out my calendar page for our upcoming appearances, my Carmea page for more about the band, including exciting news about our new CD, and Catherine's web site to hear some of her music.  There'll be a Carmea website up soon, too.

I've arranged a large number of songs for the choirs I've directed, and a few years ago I first ventured into  the world of song-writing ... now I'm hooked!