Deidre McCalla showed a flair for the limelight even when she was 7, so it was no surprise to find her performing folk music with her high school trio, Friendship, which brought them to the edge of local fame. A university theater degree got overridden by the comparative ease of a life as a performing musician, although Deidre later realized that a couple years at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music would shore up and deepen her musical skills.