A few short years ago, Cheryl B. Engelhardt, armed with her biology degree from Cornell University, got a cool government job that found her SCUBA diving with research teams. But the minute she had an opportunity to compose music, the lifelong pianist—who was playing Beethoven at age three and began composing her own material at five—took off the gear and jumped into competitive waters of the music industry, first as a composer for websites, then as a jingle writer and music supervisor for Bigfoote Music. She then took the ultimate plunge as a full-time DIY indie singer-songwriter, a creative leap of faith that has made her one of NYC’s fastest rising. Just as the title of her acclaimed new CD implies, for Engelhardt, life is about risktaking, living and making music in the present, and most of all, Craving The Second.

The versatile, Harlem-based artist’s mix of heartfelt and hard-hitting piano driven songs and dynamic ambition has led her to become a popular presence in the music scene in New England, where she regularly wins over new listeners at New York venues or on the streets of Boston.  She as appeared and performed on Fox, ABC and NBC regional news segments. Her song “Keep,” the soaring, infectious first single from Craving The Second was performed at her favorite NYC venue, The Bitter End, after it made the Final 12 out of 4,000 entries in the first New York Songwriter’s Circle contest. Last April, she joined many of the city’s top artists as part of the 1st Annual Musicians For Mobility Concert, a show she organized to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. Last summer, she performed before 4,000 fans at the Blue Balls Festival in Switzerland, and this year she completed a successful ski resort/radio tour in Colorado and an acoustic tour in the UK with her drummer.

While her self-produced 2004 debut album Shoes Off and Run was a product of sheer determination that radiated incredible potential, Engelhardt truly hits her creative stride on the more distinctly pop-oriented Craving The Second. The project includes performances by numerous A-list NYC musicians, including drummer Shawn Pelton (from Saturday Night Live and Sheryl Crow’s band). At one point, Engelhardt makes a fascinating detour from the piano-focused vibe of the disc with “We,” a track she constructed line by line with only her voice building towards a five-part harmony. Ironically, when Keyboard Magazine chose her in 2006 as one of their “unsigned artists of the month,” the article focused on that song, the one she did without a keyboard.

Cheryl has gone on to write music for nationally-airing commercials, write articles for magazines like Performer and Keyboard, hit the US airwaves and tour internationally.  Her on-air performances and interviews, both radio and television, are endearing as much as they are entertaining.  Her latest talking point is her new single “Nothing To Change”, an empowering anthem Cheryl wrote for the "Women, Wisdom and You" event held at the Times Center in Manhattan. Part of the song’s proceeds benefit Girls Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and boldSM. Cheryl’s newest mission is to get a million downloads… and inspire a million girls. She is currently booking a spring tour around the USA and booking summer shows in Europe. Moving forward with a catchy and marketable album, continuously honing her skills, living with no regrets and the belief there’s really nothing to change, Cheryl is on the fast-track to success.