Lydia McCauley

Lydia McCauley's music is best described as beautiful and passionate. Her song-writing is shaped by Celtic, Medieval, and Appalachian music, an affinity with nature, as well as her own pilgrimages around the world. This combination portrays a journey through the past and into the present as Lydia's songs take her listener to an inward landscape, where the simple truths of her lyrics illumine the soul. The originality of Lydia's songs, and her arrangements of traditional music embody a timeless quality which defies categorization.

Lydia formed the independent music label, Brimstone Music, in 1995 with husband, Kurt Scherer. In 1998 she released her first full length album, SABBATH DAY'S JOURNEY. Her second recording ENTRANCES was released in 1999. In 2002 Lydia released two more recordings; THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH in April, and THE MOON OF WINTERTIME in October. THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH, which features Lydia's songwriting, rated as the number one selling New Age album 2003 for Goldenrod Music Distributors. THE MOON OF WINTERTIME is a collection of traditional winter songs from the thirteenth Century to the present, including pieces from Italy, Scotland, France and England. Her 2004 release, FOREIGNLANDER, is a collection of Appalachian music from the 17th - 20th Century, newly arranged in Lydia's unique music style.

Lydia McCauley and Kurt Scherer have put together a band of talented musicians with several music influences that include classical, jazz, Celtic, new age, and early music genres. The ensemble features viola, recorders/whistles, acoustic guitar, double bass and percussion. Together they tour the U.S. and Canada, performing at venues such as: Berea College Performing Arts in Kentucky, The Heritage Festival and Folklife Festivals in Seattle, Sea to Sky Renaissance Festival in British Columbia, and KPBS San Diego. They also give concerts by candlelight in churches such as Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento, St. Mark's in Medford, Oregon, and Trinity Anglican in Vancouver, B.C.

Born in Seattle and raised in the southeastern United States, Lydia grew up studying classical and contemporary music as a child. Later she lived in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky and was introduced to Celtic music that had been brought over the waters from the British Isles. She studied and documented Appalachian music in college. Throughout the years of raising a family Lydia managed her own piano studio. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and producer Kurt Scherer. The two enjoy working together and traveling the world as much as possible.