When not listening to music, Lydia is a market and competitive analyst in the Washington office of one of the world's leading telecommunications companies. She has a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in library and information science. Other interests include -- art and architecture, food, photography and travel that combines all of these.

She became a José Carreras fan after the third or fourth rerun broadcast of the first Three Tenors concert. "By the time that our PBS station, WETA, had run this program a third or fourth time during the March '91 Pledge Drive, I had a copy of the CD which had the lyrics to the Improvisio from Andrea Chenier. I read them as I watched him sing the Improvisio and was blown away. Here, at last, was an opera singer who didn't just stand there and sing. He really interpreted the meaning behind the words. I first saw Carreras perform in person at Carnegie Hall in 1992, that sealed it, his ability to communicate with an audience on an intimate, individual level is astounding."

In addition to Carreras, her favorite singers include an eclectic mix of Cecilia Bartoli, Montserrat Caballe, Judy Garland, Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, Samuel Ramey, Katia Ricciarelli, Frank Sinatra, Bryn Terfel, and Richard Tucker. Favorite composers include Bach, Beethoven, Bizet, da Falla, Holst, Mozart, Pucini, Smetana, Vaughn Williams and Verdi.