I'm a singer/songwriter living in the beautiful state of Maine. After all these years, I finally found my home — and her transcendent beauty and power never fails to inspire and nurture me.

Music has always been a central part of my life — my mother said I sang before I spoke. Most of what I write is pure improvisation, and I write the music and lyrics on the fly, in a holistic manner. As such, my music is a diary, a means of therapy, and a window into my deepest thoughts and other worlds, and encompasses everything from pure folk to multitrack experimental or atmospheric music.

At 15, my parents took me on a vacation that would change my life. We went to Michigan and "while we were there," we visited the Interlochen Academy for the Arts. I was transfixed by the immense talent around me and I never forgot that place. One day, I mentioned the school to my mother and she had me apply. I was accepted and never looked back. I went on to study music composition at Peabody Conservatory of Music (Now The Peabody Institute of Music of the Johns Hopkins University) and the Yale School of Music and studied under composers Jacob Druckman, Martin Bresnick, Poul Ruders, and Morris Moshe Cotel. I've written string quartets and orchestra pieces. But eventually, I realized that I was my own instrument and pursued my authentic musical voice.

I will never forget the day I discovered the true power in and freedom I could experience when I connected deep into my soul and let it all out — the beautiful, the dark, the ecstatic, the bloody, the traumatic, the angry. It is one of the most wonderful experiences a human being can have.

Influences include Arvo Part, Ani DiFranco, George Crumb, John Cage, Bjork, Sinead O'Connor, Loreena McKennitt, and a host of others. I hope to reach out to others through the Internet during this crisis and make connections to other musicians and listeners.

https://oeinc.bandcamp.com/album/gate

https://nicolelepera.com