She's also a singer/songwriter whose varied life experience - from cab driver, to law school graduate, to actor, photographer and near-politician - has provided a rich source for her powerful music. "in from the cold", her first independently produced album, is a collection of 14 captivating songs that deal with subjects that drive her - injustice, ignorance, irony and sex. Full of humour and surprises, Donna doesn't preach, she simply shares her thoughts.

Her musical style is a quirky mixture of country, rock, blues, folk and gospel. It's a meld of the music she grew up listening to - "My mother loved Mahalia Jackson and Carroll Baker," recalls the 41 year-old Toronto based singer. "Buffy Sainte-Marie and Joan Baez were early influences for me, as was Carole King."

Produced by Bryant Didier and recorded at B. Musique Studio, in from the cold features the stellar talents of guitarists Neil Chapman (Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dan Hill) and Sherry Shute (Rita MacNeil, Faith Nolan), drummers Paul Antonio (Morgan Davis), Rob Greenway (Robert Priest, Meryn Cadell), Lorne Nehring (one of the country's top session players), percussionist Rick Shadrach Lazar (Loreena McKennitt) violinist/mandolin player Shelley Coopersmith (Sylvia Tyson, Spirit of Nova Scotia), keyboardist / accordion player Evelyne Datl (Shirley Eikhard, Corey Hart) and Didier on bass. Vocal harmonies are by Didier, Marcy English, Gloria May Eshkibok, Marianne Girard-Danaan, Maryem Hassan, Louise Lambert, Jani Lauzon, Brent Titcomb, and David Wall.

The music is a collage of stirring tales and snapshot visions, up beats, down feels, lilting choruses and swinging verses. Donna writes about the world as she sees it, and does so with no apologies.

"And On The Evidence," the opening track, is a stinging demand for reparation. "Ghostdance" uses old-world metre to paint a regal picture of denial and resignation. "Where Are All The Children" is a media-inspired call to all displaced children, while "Minuet For the Staircase Children" deals with a child's experience of domestic dysfunction. "If They Take Us In the Morning" grapples with persecution and apathy. "Safe and Sound" is a sexy, Sapphic ditty, "Shaking the Foundation" uses a barrelhouse melody to explore self-pity, and "Businessman's Blues" is a sassy, saucy, blues-rock jab at corporate culture. Inner Emptiness is examined in "A Little Bird Told Me So," while "Fear and Hunger," "The River and the Sea" and "Letter From San Francisco" are all about facing loss and making choices. The last and title track, "In From the Cold," is Donna's story. It's about finding shelter, hope, peace and resolution.

Donna's music is sometimes simple and spare, but often it is rich and complex. Subtle, yet tricky arrangements and unusual time signatures enhance the impact. "I pride myself on my words and music fitting," explains Donna. "Words have a rhythm and tone. I write around the phrasings and metres of language."

Raised in Toronto by adoptive parents - an Acadian father and a mother of Celtic heritage - Donna is partly of MicMac descent. Because of her background, she was considered an anomaly and an outsider at school. That's where she learned to fight for underdogs, especially herself. It was at this time she met her first guardian angels, two teachers who encouraged her and introduced her to the socially conscious music of Woody Guthrie, Baez, Odetta and the Weavers.

At age 15, armed with a mail order guitar from Eaton's, Donna played to her first audiences at local recreation centres and church folk nights. By 18 she was doing the coffee house circuit and eventually went to perform at folk festivals, clubs, demonstrations and benefits. After attending Queen's University, she played bass with Toronto band Mamma Quilla II. All musical activity was put on hold however, when she decided to return to school.

In 1996 Donna was called to the bar. Completion of her schooling opened new doors - she now had time to concentrate on her creative side, although politics got her mildly sidetracked. She threw her hat into the ring in April of this year and was a candidate for nomination in the federal election. "Although I wasn't nominated," she says, "I learned how the system worked. I'm a political animal at heart. I can't be complicit in oppression."

The experience enforced the importance of getting her voice heard. "With the music, I don't want to fight. I want to soothe," she says, adding with a laugh, "and dig a bit." Lillian Allen agrees, "We need more music in our community. We need more voices. We need to get back to intent."

Her new album is the completion of a personal journey which began many years before. It's a musical exploration of her soul that asks questions relevant to all human beings. Donna has come in from the cold, and if you're listening, you may, too.

In From the Cold...
CD $17.00 ON SALE AGAIN SEPTEMEBER 8, 2003

1. On the Evidence
2. Ghostdance
3. Minuet for the Staircase Children
4. Safe & Sound
5. Shaking the Foundation
6. Businessman's Blues
7. A Little Bird Told Me So
8. Fear & Hunger
9. Letter From San Francisco
10. The River & the Sea
11. Where Are All the Children
12. If They Take Us in the Morning
13. In From the Cold
14. Peggy's Waltz