Michal Towber ’05 performs at Toad’s Wednesday night. Towber is one of several Yalies — including undergrads and alums — pursuing careers in music. (ESTHER QUINTANA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

The glitter on her eyelids shimmered as she leaned over the keyboard and belted out the hard tones of the blues. But this three-time Emmy nominee singing to a house of around 100 Yalies under the red lights at Toad's Place Wednesday evening was not a visiting rocker. She was a Calhoun senior named Michal Towber.

While Yale is more famous for turning out judges, doctors and presidents than recording artists, several students and recent graduates are hoping to change that. Using the experiences and maturity gained at Yale, a new wave of recording artists are working to make a name for themselves in the industry.

All the musicians interviewed said Yale had a positive impact on their work and on their performances.

While Yale has driven most of these individuals to pursue their musical careers further, Towber at least is strongly considering the more conventional post-Yale path: law school.

Towber said her experience while signed with Columbia Records left her "kind of jaded." Although she will wait and see what happens to her album when it is released at the end of February or early March, she currently plans to continue pursuing music as only a hobby.

"In terms of recording, if I get the opportunity I'm definitely going to cut another album," Towber said. "But at this point in my life the romantic notion of getting in a band with four other people and driving around the states and not having any money is not that attractive to me."

But Towber said she does not want her experiences or her words to discourage other prospective musicians.

"I think it's great that there are so many artistic people at Yale, and I definitely wouldn't discourage them from going into the music industry," she said. "But I would just make sure that they have good entertainment legal counsel."