Lucy Kaplansky

The 7 p.m. performance will be held at the PAS’s home, the historic Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave.

Kaplansky, who started her singing career in Chicago bars, moved to New York after high school. There she found a fertile community of songwriters and performers, including Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Nanci Griffith, John Gorka, Bill Morrissey and Cliff Eberhardt. She and Colvin became a popular singing duo.

Convinced that her calling was in another direction, however, Kaplansky returned to school and earned a doctorate in psychology from Yeshiva University. She worked as a staff psychologist at a New York hospital and opened a private practice.

Pulled back into the studio by her friends, Kaplansky harmonized on Colvin's Grammy-winning Steady On, Griffith's Lone Star State of Mind and Little Love Affairs, and four of Gorka's albums. She also has a number of soundtrack credits, including singing with Vega on Pretty in Pink and with Griffith on The Firm.

In 1994, with the release of her first album, The Tide, Kaplansky gave up her psychology practice and returned to music full-time.

Her latest CD, 2007’s Over The Hills, recounts the story of how her family came to be in America and the struggles it has endured and connects to the universal themes of love, joy, loss, and dreams for the future. She is joined on harmony by Eliza Gilkyson, Buddy Miller, Richard Shindell and Jonatha Brooke. 

Of Over the Hills, The Washington Post said, “The warmth of Kaplansky’s voice paired with her pensive songs makes her music sound like wistful lullabies … The album’s title track is particularly stunning. Its touching meditation on the passing of time is enhanced by Eliza Gilkyson’s striking harmonies.”

Kaplansky’s other albums include Flesh and Bone (1996), Ten Year Night (1999), Every Single Day (2001) and The Red Thread (2004). A new single, "Life Threads” is available as a digital download.

Tickets for Kaplansky’s Winter Wind performance are $20. Seating is limited and advance purchase is recommended.

Winter Wind Concerts are made possible in part by grants from the Norman Arts Council, Oklahoma Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support from Tom McAuliffe, Nancy McClellan, Cindy Merrick, Skye Diers, Glen Brown, Mark and Teresa Marsee, Becky Grider, Danna Primm and Marie Soleil.

For more information on Winter Wind and other PAS programs, call (405) 307-9320.