Michele McLaughlin, a new age keyboardist recognized for her delicately facile style, taught herself both piano and composition, first touching the keys while still in kindergarten. A George Winston concert she attended at age eight prompted her to master his material strictly by ear, which in turn sparked her own songwriting. Her debut recording, the tranquil Beginnings, appeared in 2000. Heartened by listener responses, she wrote sixteen pieces in four months for the follow-up project Elysium. Over the ensuing period she composed, performed, and independently issued The Journey in 2002, A Change of Color in 2003, The Beginning of Forever in 2004, and After the Storm the next year, after which she assembled the retrospective Reflections 2000-2005: The Best of Michele McLaughlin. Christmas Plain & Simple followed in 2006 and Dedication arrived in 2007. Around then she chose to devote herself to music full time, initiating a schedule of regular concerts and tours. A Celtic Dream surfaced in 2008, while 2010 brought both Out of the Darkness and Christmas Plain & Simple II. Breathing in the Moment was issued in 2012 and Waking the Muse in 2013. Undercurrent, released in 2015, entered the Billboard New Age Albums chart at number five.
