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Name: Amy Nazarov
Member Since: October 2003
DMH Roles: Vocalist, schmoozer, publicist, nag, "the tall one," guitar strummer-in-training.
Hometown: Mystic, Connecticut
Childhood Pet: Our beautiful mutt Montmorency, Monty for short, who was named for a waterfall in Canada.
My Favorite Self-Penned Original and Why I Wrote It: The only song I've written all by myself is "Jerusalem to Jericho," which is based on the Bible story I remember my mom telling me when I was a kid.
Key Musical Influences: Sarah McLachlan, Keane, Kate Rusby, Queen, Eddie from Ohio, Alison Krauss, REM, U2
Dream Cover: Lord, how to choose among ALL my dream covers? Let's say "Stuck in the Middle with You" by Stealers Wheel, "You Call Everybody Darling" by The Andrews Sisters, or "Vacation" by the Go-Gos.
Musician I'd Like to Trade Places With for a Day: The aforementioned Ms. McLachlan.
Favorite Gig Memory: Getting a standing ovation our first time at the Kennedy Center, with most of my family in attendance.
Favorite Quote: "There are no strangers, only friends we haven't met yet."
Top 10 Desert Island CDs:
Eddie from Ohio, "Portable EFO Show"
ABBA, "Greatest Hits"
REM, "Reckoning"
Kate Rusby, "10"
Cherryholmes, "Black and White"
Chanticleer, "Palestrina"
Lyle Lovett, "Road to Ensenada"
Seldom Scene, "Best of Seldon Scene"
Richard Shindell, "Courier"
Van Halen, "Van Halen II"
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 Amy Nazarov, who provides many of DMH's high harmonies and recently some of the lower ones too, and who plunks along on rhythm guitar as long as the song is in A or G, is another band member with a completely random musical background. While as a child in Connecticut she pronounced family carol sings "totally dorky," she was secretly thrilled to be learning a bit about the intricacies of finding harmonies from her singing parents. Through chorus and drama-club productions in junior high and high school, Amy reveled in the sonic experiments wrought by large groups of excited teenagers, and still gets goosebumps when she hears the theme song to "The Greatest American Hero" or any part of "Man of La Mancha."
In college and in the years immediately following, Amy tabled music in order to write lots of papers about Robert Frost and to work in publishing in New York and Chicago. Upon moving to California in 1993, she picked up a guitar for the first time and joined an a cappella group. In 1998, Amy returned to the right coast and joined the Runnymede Singers, a D.C.-based choral ensemble that still performs a mix of spiritual and secular material in and around Washington, then the choir of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Arlington, Va.
Amy and Caryn met over a slot machine in Las Vegas in the mid-90s, when both of them were there to cover a huge computer trade show. When Amy revealed she was trying to form a cappella group, Caryn invited her out to DMH practice. Wine was consumed and random vocal stunts attempted. In time, Amy, Belinda, and Caryn found their three-part groove, and the new DMH singers lineup was complete.
Amy studies voice with acclaimed bluegrass singer Dede Wyland and lives in the District of Columbia with her husband and son.
The photographs on this page were taken by Brett Davis in the chapel and on the grounds of Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC.
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