Catriona MacDonald

Last updated

Catriona Macdonald
Born1969or1970(age 53–54)
Genres Folk music
Celtic
Occupation(s)Musician, music teacher, academic
Instrument Fiddle
Years active1983–present
LabelsPeerie Angel
MembersDavid Milligan (piano)
Conrad Ivitsky (double bass)
James Mackintosh (drums, percussion)
Website Official website

Catriona Macdonald (born 1969 or 1970) is a fiddler, composer, researcher, and lecturer from Shetland, located some 320 km (200 miles) north of the Scottish mainland. She is considered to be among the world's leading traditional fiddle players, and one of the top exponents of the Shetland fiddle, a branch of traditional music with clear connections to the music of Scotland, but which features differs slightly in its overall feeling. The music of Shetland has been shaped for centuries by visitors and various musicians from abroad, including Scandinavians, and has been influenced by styles such as the music of Orkney, Norway and Ireland. [1]

Contents

Background

Macdonald began studying traditional fiddle with Dr. Tom Anderson MBE [2] in 1981, then aged 11 (she considers herself to be a "late" starter); [3] she became a founding member of Shetland's Young Heritage Fiddlers, [4] being awarded as Shetland Young Fiddler of the Year in 1983, just two years after starting. [5] In 1992, she won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, and additionally went on to study voice for four years at the Royal College of Music, London.

Macdonald currently lives in Scotland, dividing her time between her international music career as well as more academic and scholarly pursuits, [6] as she is an active teacher with a passion for sharing her knowledge of traditional fiddle techniques and vernacular. [7] Professionally, she is Chair of Undergraduate Board of Studies and Degree Program Director for the BA in Folk and Traditional Music, Newcastle University, [8] as well as a Doctoral candidate. Macdonald has worked as a tutor and course assessor for the Scottish Music Degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, and has taught and lectured at several universities across Norway, Ireland (including the University of Limerick), Denmark, Canada and Australia, as well as in Stirling and Highlands and Islands, Scotland. She also regularly tutors at a variety of annual summer schools, festivals and residential courses, including Cambridge, England's Burwell Bash, [9] Shetland's Shetland FiddleFrenzy, [10] "Folkworks" [11] and "Blazin' in Beauly" (the band Blazin' Fiddles' own summer school). [12]

Macdonald also tours and performs at many global music festivals, such as Cape Breton's Celtic Colours Festival, Finland's Kaustinen Folk Music Festival , Scotland's Celtic Connections , and many others. As well as her own concerts, Macdonald has performed and recorded with an all-female, international fiddle ensemble called the String Sisters, a sextet composed of her and Norwegian Hardanger fiddle player Annbjørg Lien, Liz Knowles (Irish American fiddler, and past member of Cherish the Ladies), Liz Carroll (acclaimed Irish American fiddler and prolific composer from Chicago), Emma Härdelin (fiddler and vocalist of the Swedish folk-rock band Garmarna), and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh of Gweedore, Ireland (singer, fiddler, and founding member of Donegal traditional "supergroup" Altan). She has also toured as a duo with Annbjørg Lien, and also Timo Alakotila, often showcasing the similarities and nuances common between the Nordic and Shetland styles. She has been a member of The Unusual Suspects, and was a member of Scottish fiddle band Blazin' Fiddles until 2011.

Discography

Solo albums

Groups and collaborations

Awards

Scottish Traditional Music Awards

  • 2004 Live Band (Blazin Fiddles)
  • 2005 Album of the Year (Blazin Fiddles)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiddle</span> Bowed string instrument

A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the style of the music played may determine specific construction differences between fiddles and classical violins. For example, fiddles may optionally be set up with a bridge with a flatter arch to reduce the range of bow-arm motion needed for techniques such as the double shuffle, a form of bariolage involving rapid alternation between pairs of adjacent strings. To produce a "brighter" tone than the deep tones of gut or synthetic core strings, fiddlers often use steel strings. The fiddle is part of many traditional (folk) styles, which are typically aural traditions—taught "by ear" rather than via written music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardanger fiddle</span> Traditional Norwegian stringed instrument

A Hardanger fiddle is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings and thinner wood. The earliest known example of the hardingfele is from 1651, made by Ole Jonsen Jaastad in Hardanger, Norway. Originally, the instrument had a rounder, narrower body. Around the year 1850, the modern layout with a body much like the violin became the norm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annbjørg Lien</span> Norwegian musician

Annbjørg Lien is a Norwegian musician, playing the hardingfele, violin, and nyckelharpa.

Scottish fiddling may be distinguished from other folk fiddling styles by its particular precision of execution and energy in the delivery, for example, the rendering of the dotted-quaver/semi-quaver rhythmic patterns, commonly used in the Strathspey. Christine Martin, in her Traditional Scottish Fiddling players guide, discusses the techniques of "hack bowing", "the Scotch snap", and "snap bowing". These techniques contrast quite sharply with the most common bowing patterns of Irish fiddling. The style has a very large repertoire consisting of a great variation of rhythms and key signatures. There is also a strong link to the playing of traditional Scottish bagpipes which is better known throughout the world.

Tom (Tammy) Anderson MBE (1910–1991) was a Scottish fiddler, teacher, composer and collector of traditional tunes. He has been described as "...the most prominent personality in the entire history of Shetland fiddling."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Burke (musician)</span> Irish fiddler

Kevin Burke is an Irish master fiddler considered one of the finest living Irish fiddlers. For nearly five decades he has been at the forefront of Irish traditional music and Celtic music, performing and recording with the groups The Bothy Band, Patrick Street, and the Celtic Fiddle Festival. He is a 2002 recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Scots Trad Music Awards or Na Trads were founded in 2003 by Simon Thoumire to celebrate Scotland's traditional music in all its forms and create a high profile opportunity to bring the music and music industry into the spotlight of media and public attention. Nominations are made by the public and in 2019 over 100,000 public votes were expected across 18 categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folkworks</span>

Folkworks is a non-profit organisation based at The Glasshouse and a part of the North Music Trust. It runs many workshops, summer schools and festivals to promote and encourage the furtherance of folk music. It was begun in 1988 by Alistair Anderson and Ros Rigby with John McElroy as chair of its board. It became part of the North Music Trust and The Sage Gateshead in 2002. As such, Folkworks no longer continues to exist as a separate entity, as it is now a part of the North Music Trust and based in The Sage Gateshead.

Shona Mooney is a Scottish fiddle player and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blazin' Fiddles</span> Scottish fiddle band

Blazin' Fiddles are a contemporary Scottish fiddle band from the Highlands and Islands. They formed in 1998 to showcase Scotland's distinct regional fiddle styles. The band have a number of awards, including; the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards Live Act of the Year, Album of the Year and Folk Band of the Year. Their records are released on their own indie Blazin' Records label. They have been described as "...the Led Zeppelin of the Folk World."

The Shetland Fiddlers' Society is a group of fiddlers from Shetland that play regularly for Shetland Folk Dance and perform at events such as Shetland's Folk Festival and Accordion and Fiddle Festival.

Chris Stout is a Scottish fiddle/violin player from Shetland, now based in Glasgow. Stout grew up in Fair Isle and lived there until 8 years of age before moving to Sandwick on the Shetland Mainland, then on to Glasgow in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Fiddler of the Year</span>

Shetland's Young Fiddler of the Year is an annual competition held over two days organised by the Shetland Folk Society.

Randal Bays is an American fiddler, guitarist and composer. This Irish-style fiddle and guitar player first gained international recognition through his recordings and performances with Co. Clare fiddler Martin Hayes in the early 1990s.

Fiddlers' Bid are a Shetland based instrumental group known for playing contemporary arrangements of traditional Shetland fiddle tunes. The seven piece line-up consists of four fiddles, acoustic guitar, bass guitar and piano/Clàrsach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">String Sisters</span>

String Sisters are a folk supergroup made up of six of the world's leading female fiddlers.

<i>Live</i> (String Sisters album) 2007 live album by String Sisters

Live is a live album from the international music group String Sisters. The CD/DVD was recorded on the group's Norway tour in 2005/6 and was released in November 2007. Live features traditional and newly composed sets arranged and written respectively by the band members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenna Reid</span> Musical artist

Jenna Reid is a Scottish fiddle player who has been described as "...the finest fiddler in Scotland of her generation." She was born and brought up in the village of Quarff, in the Shetland Islands of Scotland and found a fiddle in her grandmother's attic when she was nine years old and started to play it. She was taught by Tom Anderson and Willie Hunter and also studied the classical piano. She graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Scottish traditional music where she also sang and played the piano accordion and the piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aidan O'Rourke (musician)</span> Scottish contemporary folk music fiddle player and composer

Aidan O'Rourke is a Scottish contemporary folk music fiddle player and composer. He was named the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year and the Scots Trad Music Awards 2011 Composer of the Year. In addition to his solo career, O'Rourke also plays in the award-winning folk trio Lau alongside Kris Drever and Martin Green. He was one of 20 musicians commissioned for New Music 20x12 by PRS for Music Foundation to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. O'Rourke has worked with Eddi Reader, Andy Sheppard, Alyth, Roddy Woomble and appears on more than eighty recordings. Previously, he was a member of Blazin' Fiddles, The Unusual Suspects and Tabache.

Catriona McKay is Scottish harpist and composer. She is a contemporary explorer on the Scottish harp (Clàrsach), having collaborated with folk and experimental musicians, as well as co-designing the Starfish McKay harp.

References

  1. ↑ Larsen, Mary (1 September 1997). "Catriona Macdonald: Respecting Shetland's Fiddling Legacy". Fiddler Magazine. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  2. ↑ World Music: The Rough Guide By Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo, Orla Duane, Vanessa Dowel, Published by Rough Guides, 1999 ISBN   1-85828-635-2, ISBN   978-1-85828-635-8
  3. ↑ "Fiddler Magazine - Fall 1997". Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  4. ↑ "Catriona Macdonald". Myspace. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Catriona Macdonald". Compass Records. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Smith, Chris (17 April 2000). "Catriona Macdonald, Jennifer & Hazel Wrigley, Debbie Scott". Mustrad. Musical Traditions Internet Magazine. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Wilson, MacKenzie. "Catriona Macdonald - Biography & History". All Music. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Catriona Macdonald - Senior Lecturer". School of Arts and Cultures. University of Newcastle. 27 June 2013. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Burwell Bash - Traditional Music Summer School - Brian Finnegan - Jock Tyldesley - Tola Custy - Andy Cutting - Ed Boyd" . Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Catriona Macdonald, Jenny Keldie & Brian Cromarty, & Fiddle Frenzy Students". Mareel. Shetland Arts. 9 August 2014. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Folkworks Adult Summer Schools 2012". Sage Gateshead. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Blazin' In Beauly" . Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "Catriona is the best". Harrow Observer . 18 October 1991. p. 2. Retrieved 25 June 2024– via Newspapers.com.
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