Lainie Diamond is a multi-talented artist, Renaissance woman, born in New York City and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. As a singer, Lainie is known for her unique Mezzo-Soprano, Contralto vocal qualities and interpretation of songs. She enjoys singing a diverse repertoire of songs including classical music and opera, baroque and early sacred music, concert works, spirituals, a capella songs, and musical theater. 

Her voice has been praised by the Danbury News-Times for it’s “warm and poignant quality."

Press highlights include the New York Times, New Orleans Times-Picayune and Culture map Houston. 

Lainie made her David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center opera debut, as Bellangère in Ariane et Barbe-bleue, with The American Symphony Orchestra. In December 2005, she was honored to sing as soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in the first classical music performance in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. 

Highlights of performances as Alto concert soloist include numerous performances of the Handel Messiah; Mozart’s Requiem and Vesperae solennes de Confessore with the Choral Society of Pensacola; Glenn McClure’s St. Francis in the Americas ~A Caribbean Mass and John Rutter’s Feel the Spirit with the Connecticut Master Chorale; Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Bach’s Magnificat. 

Singing sacred and devotional music is especially dear to her heart. In New York City, she greatly enjoyed singing as a Liturgical staff cantor and soloist at The Cathedral of St. Patrick, for many masses, including Holy Thursday of The Lord's Last Supper, Christmas, and as special guest soloist. She has sung as Cantor and soloist for many live television masses broadcast from St. James Cathedral-Basilica on The Prayer Channel, NYC. Lainie sang as soloist and produced and directed the music, liturgy and art for evening Taizé Prayer Services at The Chapel of St. Basil, University of St. Thomas, Houston. Lainie enjoys singing with The St. Paul's Choir and as a soloist, at St. Paul's Methodist Church, Houston. 

Lainie has been singing and acting since childhood. Highlights include Michael Dellaira’s opera, The Secret Agent, with the Center for Contemporary Opera, NYC, as a Baroque and Early Opera soloist with Seattle Academy of Baroque Opera and The New York Continuo Collective, and with Opera Vista Houston. Highlights of opera roles include Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte. She has won awards and praise for her performances of  lead roles in musical theatre and plays, including Julie in Show Boat, the Witch in Into the Woods, Flora in Pretty Baby, Lucy Brown in The Three Penny Opera, and Shifrah in the Off-Broadway musical Moses, My Love.

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She has sung and acted in videos for visual and performing artists, including Mark Chen (Windtopia, as Eva Sharp) and Jil Guyon ("Widow" - Music score by Chris Becker). Jil Guyon's award-winning "Widow" films continue touring Film festivals around the world. Lainie has sung and acted for professional studio voice-overs for production studios. 

Lainie is the creator of Houston Laughter Yoga, and she is also a teacher of Special education - needs. Houston Laughter Yoga was the the first therapeutic public Laughter Yoga group in Houston, after beginning it in New York City. She teaches her therapeutic breathing- movement sessions: "Stress buster Tools For Real Life- Healing with Laughter Yoga" to many special needs groups, non-profits and businesses, including at The Center, Houston; for mentally and physically challenged children and adults; as faculty instructor at The Jung Center; at NASA - Johnson Space Center, Michael DeBakey Veterans Hospital, ReelAbilities Film Festival; Sri Meenakshi Devasthanam Temple, Houston Public Library, and many organizations. 

 

Houston Laughter Yoga has enjoyed much success, and in the media, in helping many people to have better health. Lainie has been featured on TV, including Great Day Houston! HoustonLife! And in the Houston press for her teaching work, influenced by her singing. www.houstonlaughteryoga.com/ 

Lainie is a member of AGMA (The American Guild of Musical Artists) and a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans, BM Music and Theatre minor, performing with numerous companies there, including The New Orleans Opera. 

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Lainie's voice teachers and coaches include Herbert Burtis (Lorraine Hunt Lieberson)

Ellen Frohnmayer, Janet Pranschke and Carol Rausch. 

She enjoys her part in helping create spiritual social change in the church for women and men, including writing 'The 2019 Prayer Letter to Pope Francis and Bishops.' She also supports the vision of advocacy groups including Future Church. Lainie greatly loves creating collage art, reading, and spending time with family and her 101 year old grandmother Mama Julie. 

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"Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement...get up in

the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted.

Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually.

To be spiritual is to be amazed."

from "God in Search of Man"~ Abraham Joshua Heschel, professor of ethics and mysticism​​​

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