Dear Visitor ~

Rather than sitting to the task of writing a personal narrative for this page titled "Bio", I wish we could just sit together in conversation, each of us curled up in a comfy chair, holding a cup or glass of something good.  I would listen carefully to your story and ask you questions about your personal journeys - about what has influenced and inspired you, while anticipating the discovery of something new and the common ground that we share. I would tell you about my musical beginnings and my childhood spent listening, a large part of the time, to my parents' record collection of great symphonies, Broadway musicals, jazz, world music, and every folk singer/musician recorded at the time.   By age 10, I was captivated by the songs of Odetta, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Peter, Paul and Mary, the Clancy Brothers, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Mercedes Sosa, Miriam Makeba and Bob Dylan.  Their music was personally life-changing, and the catalyst in one of my earliest artistic goals: to learn to play the guitar and accompany myself singing.  My music collection grew to include more songs, rhythms, melodies, and voices from a broad spectrum of genres that continue to inspire me and shape me as an artist today, striking a deep chord within me, moving me to act or to create something, and igniting in me a hunger to dig deeper, to know the story behind the music, the influence on the composer, or to better understand the culture and people that created that music.  Opening my photo album, you would see family and friends, as well as others pictured there whose lives have intersected with mine and are forever part of me, and the places that I have called "home" (Germany, Pittsburgh, France, Greece, New York's Hudson Valley, Connecticut) and the places I have visited, all of them now a part of my story.  I would show you the books on my bookshelves, including Pete Seeger's "How to Play the 5-string Banjo", and the hand-illustrated songbook created by "Uncle" Bob Schmertz, my grandfather's best friend and the first banjo player I ever knew.  It was from that book and listening to Bob Schmertz that I learned "Monongahela Sal" and other story songs that told about the history and rivers around my childhood home in Western Pennsylvania.  His songs were later recorded by Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, and Tennessee Ernie Ford.  I would sit enraptured as my grandparents regaled me with tales about hootenannies at the Schmertz' home, where my grandfather played the jaw harp and my grandmother sang and danced. And there were other stories, such as the time when Pete Seeger went into the audience in Pittsburgh and pulled his friend Bob Schmertz out of his seat and up onto the stage with him.  If you told me back then that one day I would not only meet Pete Seeger, Fred Hellerman of the Weavers, singer-songwriter Tom Pacheco, and other musical giants in my life, but that they would also become friends and mentors, I never would have believed you.  But it happened...

Together with my DNA and the memories of my ancestors in me, I am the sum of all these influences and many more than what I am able to fit onto this page: other extraordinary people, family, friends, teachers, mentors and spirit guides, opportunities and adventures, gains and losses, and mistakes and lessons that have shaped the person and artist that I am.  I cannot write about any awards bestowed on me for having learned all that I have from them.  There are no famous stages nor published reviews that define me.  It is not important; I have everything I could ever desire or need in my life and in music, especially a deep well of gratitude and an immense sense of fulfillment each time I hold an instrument in my hands and sing, giving new life to an ancient ballad, discovering a new song or story, inventing something original, or jamming and swapping songs in the community of friends around the circle.  The true blessing is being able to share the gift of music with others throughout my life, ultimately creating art with the purpose of building community, fighting injustices, and making a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world at large. Composer/Director Douglas Buchanan's words eloquently capture an idea that I, too, learned from Pete Seeger: "I am reminded that our actions—and particularly our musical ones—can gather others in, rather than keep them out, furthering a balanced justice that not only promotes the right to sing one’s own song, but also emboldens us to listen to and sing with our neighbors’ songs, as well. This is Pete Seeger’s message: neither to refuse our song nor our neighbor's, but rather to create euphony - a good sound, together. A good song can only do good. May we find our good song."

Finally, I could not complete this "bio" without acknowledging and thanking some special people who have been powerfully influential in my development as both an artist and human being: The many teachers throughout my life, and also my students, because you have also taught me; My parents and grandparents, for all that you provided; My daughter, Clare Reid Mandaro, for her beautiful presence in my life and on this album, for teaching me the most profound meaning of love, and for showing me what true grace, grit, and resiliency look like; Pete Seeger, for helping me understand the great importance of the small things, and for having given deeper and wider meaning to why I ‘cannot keep from singing’; and Tom Pacheco, for writing the songs that tell our stories and give a voice to the human heart and soul, and for his unwavering encouragement. To all who have inspired me, I thank you for showing me that, despite our struggles, there is still purpose, beauty, courage, humor, and especially HOPE in it all. 

With love and gratitude, 

Susan