Her father Ed was a German immigrant who loved the classics-Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart- while her mother Joyce grew up in the rural Nova Scotia town of Belmont, bringing a love of traditional scottish and irish music as well as country music into the household. "We'd watch Lawrence Welk on Friday nights, Don Messer's Jubilee on Saturdays, and Hee Haw on Sundays," says Abby. An avid audiophile from her earliest allowance recollection, Abby's influences include everyone from Custer LaRue to Alanis Morrisette. "I particularly love vocal quality and exploring what makes a voice beautiful, no matter what the genre. And the story line; the lyric has far more power than we give it credit for " she says.

As an actor and singer Abby has performed across Canada and in Germany, and some of her professional highlights fuse her two loves in a career as diversified as her musical upbringing. Acclaimed German director Uta Birnbaum called hers "the voice of a nightingale" when they worked together in the Bertolt Brecht collective, "The Language of Love." She was a back-up vocalist for Paul Humphreys (former lead singer of Toronto-based Blue Peter) in the Factory Theatre Toronto production of "Savage Heat." Her own two-person show, "A Night on the Roof" blended pop, musical theatre and original compositions at the Pforzheimer City Theatre in Pforzheim Germany. Abby is also the founder of the celebrated Renaissance a cappella trio, The MadriGALS, whose CD Alchemy was nominated for two Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARA's). Folk music is where the journey began. Abby is thrilled to have found her way home.