Nehedar is the project of New York-based singer-songwriter Emilia Cataldo.

The daughter of two New York musicians who fled urban life for the country, Cataldo was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, where her family lived happily in a barn on the outskirts of town. Music always permeated their home - her mother a hippie piano teacher from a Jewish home and her father a beatnik jazz saxophonist from a Puerto Rican family. (Those who watched Sesame Street in the 70's may know her father from Luis' Street Corner Band).

At the age of 5, her family moved to a bustling Cuban neighborhood in Miami, Florida, where Cataldo would be influenced by the Latin rhythms and beats of her surroundings. But her father's jazz music that infused their home would prove to be a lasting influence.

From Miami, the family moved to the religiously-infused town of Zion, Illinois, on the outskirts of Chicago.

Eventually, Cataldo grew disenchanted with her small town surroundings, and left high school to travel the country, and later the world, on a journey that would eventually lead her to Israel, where she would learn about her Jewish roots, and take on the Hebrew name Nehedar, which means 'wonderful.'

In 2000, Cataldo settled in New York City, where she began writing and performing her own music in 2001 following a tumultuous year, adopting 'Nehedar' as her stage-name and that of her band. Eventually, Cataldo returned to school and completed a B.A. in music at Stern College in Manhattan.

Nehedar has put out three self-released albums - Pick Your Battles in 2007, the critically-acclaimed Dreamlike in 2008, and, most recently Pterodactyl Baby in 2009, all produced and mastered by Craig Levy of Little Pioneer Cider House. While the band has included a revolving cast of friends and changed shape over the years, its current line-up features Cataldo on vocals and guitar, Jon Taub on guitar and bass, and Jason Horowitz on drums.

While spanning indie-rock, folk and pop genres, the music of Nehedar has continued to deliver her blend of deeply personal lyrics, beautiful vocal harmonies, a variety of instrumentation, and - revealing the jazz influences from her father - momentary departures from strict chord progressions that set her music apart.

Over the years, Cataldo has recruited talented young filmmakers to create videos for her music. Today, she remains hard at work writing, recording and performing in New York City.