Arthur Cormack

Last updated

Arthur Cormack

OBE
Art MacCormaig a' seinn aig SMO air 2016-04-21 (bearradh).jpg
Cormack singing at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in 2021.
Born (1965-04-21) 21 April 1965 (age 58)
Portree, Scotland
Education Portree High School
Occupation(s)Chief Executive of Fèisean nan Gàidheal, Chairman of Bòrd na Gàidhlig (2009-2012), singer, musician, broadcaster
SpouseShona MacDonald (m. 1991)
Children3
Honours OBE (2015)
Musical career
GenresGaelic song and music
Instrument(s)Vocals, keyboards

Arthur Cormack OBE (Scottish Gaelic: Art MacCarmaig; born 21 April 1965) is a Scottish Gaelic singer and musician from Portree, Isle of Skye and was educated at Portree High School.

Contents

He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Fèisean nan Gàidheal.

Music

Cormack started competing in Gaelic singing competitions when he was 8 and competing at Mòds when he was 11. [1] He won the coveted Gold Medal at the Motherwell Mòd in 1983 at the age of 18, the youngest male individual to do so, and went on to release his first album, Nuair Bha Mi Òg, the following year aged just 19. [2]

He followed this up in 1989 with the release of his second solo studio album, Ruith na Gaoith, in 1989. [3]

He was part of acclaimed Gaelic supergroups Mac-Talla and Cliar, with Mac-Talla releasing their only studio album Mairidh Gaol is Ceòl in 1994, [4] and Cliar releasing four albums: Cliar in 2000, [5] , which was voted the Best Album at the inaugural Scottish Trad Music Awards in 2003, [6] Lasair Dhè in 2001, [7] Gun Tàmh [8] in 2002, and Grinn Grinn in 2005. [9]

In addition to this, he also runs his own Macmeanmna label and continues to guest star on the albums of Blair Douglas.

At the 2011 Scots Trad Music Awards, Cormack received the "Hamish Henderson Services to Traditional Music Award". [10]

Cormack released his third solo studio album, his first for 29 years, in 2018, titled Buanas, which received critical acclaim from critics. [11] [12]

Gaelic

Cormack is a strong advocate for the Scottish Gaelic language. In 2009 he was appointed as the chairman of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, having been the organization's interim chairman since the previous year, [13] as well as Chief Executive of Fèisean nan Gàidheal for many years. He was a proactive chairman, often taking to internet forums to counteract anti-Gaelic sentiment. He stepped down in March 2012. [14] He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of Eden Court Theatre in Inverness and the Scottish Arts Council.

Cormack also occasionally co-hosts the Dùrachdan requests show on BBC Radio Nan Gàidheal, primarily with fellow broadcaster Mairead MacLennan.

Cormack was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to Gaelic education. [15] [16]

Personal life

Cormack lives in Portree with his wife Shona. They have three children, Ruairidh, Eilidh and Iain.

Eilidh, Ruairidh and Iain are all singers, with Eilidh winning the women's Gold Medal and Ruairidh winning the men's Traditional Gold Medal at the Inverness Mòd in 2014, [17] Ruairidh also winning the men's Gold Medal at the Dunoon Mòd in 2018. [18] Iain went on to win the men's Gold Medal at the Paisley Mòd in 2023. [19] Eilidh is also a member of Scottish traditional band, Sian.

Discography

With Mac-Talla

With Cliar


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oi Polloi</span> Scottish punk rock band

Oi Polloi are a punk rock band from Scotland that formed around 1981. Starting as an Oi! band, they are now generally more associated with the anarcho-punk genre. The band has become notable for their contributions to the Scottish Gaelic punk subgenre. The name comes from the Greek expression "οἱ πολλοί", Anglicized hoi polloi, meaning "the masses" or "the common people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Gàidhlig</span> Department of BBC Scotland

BBC Gàidhlig is the department of BBC Scotland that produces Scottish Gaelic-language (Gàidhlig) programming. This includes TV programmes for BBC Alba, the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal radio station and the BBC Alba website. Its managing editor is Marion MacKinnon.

<span title="Scottish Gaelic-language text"><span lang="gd" style="font-style: normal;">Bòrd na Gàidhlig</span></span> Agency of the Scottish Government responsible for the Gaelic language

Bòrd na Gàidhlig is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government with responsibility for Gaelic. It was established by an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 2005 and is based in Inverness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Gaelic punk</span> Subgenre of punk rock

Scottish Gaelic punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which bands sing some or all of their music in Scottish Gaelic. The Gaelic punk scene is, in part, an affirmation of the value of minority languages and cultures. Gaelic punk bands express political views, particularly those related to anarchism and environmentalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill a h-Uile Rud</span>

Mill a h-Uile Rud is a Seattle-based band who sing in Scottish Gaelic.

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

Murdo Macfarlane known as Bàrd Mhealboist was a published poet, songwriter and campaigner for Scottish Gaelic, especially during the 1970s, when the Ceartas movement was gaining strength.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">An Comunn Gàidhealach</span>

An Comunn Gàidhealach, commonly known as An Comunn, is a Scottish organisation that supports and promotes the Scottish Gaelic language and Scottish Gaelic culture and history at local, national and international levels. The society is closely associated with the Royal National Mòd. The symbol used for An Comunn Gàidhealach is the Irish Sunburst flag at the top also a symbol associated in Irish mythology and the Celtic harp on the bottom right.

Gaelic broadcasting in Scotland is a developing area of the media in Scotland which deals with broadcasts given in Scottish Gaelic and has important links with the efforts of Gaelic revival in Scotland. As well as being informative, Gaelic broadcasting in Scotland has acquired some symbolic importance. Whilst opinion polls show that the vast majority of Gaels feel they have been ill-served by broadcasting media, Scotland now has Gaelic broadcasting all over Scotland both on television and radio.

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.

Fèisean nan Gàidheal is the National Association of Scottish Gaelic Arts Youth Tuition Festivals. Established in 1988, it is the support organisation for the Fèisean which are local Gaelic Arts tuition festivals. The current Chief Executive Officer is Arthur Cormack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ann Kennedy (Scottish singer)</span> Musical artist

Mary Ann Kennedy, is a Scottish musician, singer, choral director, composer, radio and television presenter, and music producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joy Dunlop</span> Scottish step dancer, journalist, presenter

Joy Dunlop is a Scottish broadcaster, singer, step dancer and educator from the village of Connel in Argyll, who now lives in Glasgow, Scotland. Singing predominantly in Scottish Gaelic, she performs folk music, song and dance in a contemporary style rooted in the tradition. She is a weather presenter for BBC Scotland and BBC ALBA and formerly a volunteer radio presenter with Oban FM

Mary MacPherson (née MacDonald), known as Màiri Mhòr nan Òran or simply Màiri Mhòr, was a Scottish Gaelic poet from the Isle of Skye, whose contribution to Scottish Gaelic literature is focused heavily upon the Highland Clearances and the Crofters War; the Highland Land League's campaigns of rent strikes and other forms of direct action. Although she could read her own work when it was written down, she could not write it down herself. She retained her songs and poems in her memory and eventually dictated them to others, who wrote them down for publication. She often referred to herself as Màiri Nighean Iain Bhàin, the name by which she would have been known in the Skye of her childhood.

Maggie Macdonald was a Scottish Gaelic singer and primary school teacher. She was a Mòd gold medallist and sang with the Gaelic super-group, Cliar. She was part of The Campbells Of Greepe, along with other family members.

Mac-Talla was a Scottish Gaelic "supergroup" formed in 1992 at the suggestion of record label owner Robin Morton. Morton credited the individual band members as some of those responsible for bringing Gaelic music to wider public attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcas Mac an Tuairneir</span> Writer and singer

Marcas Mac an Tuairneir is an English writer and singer. He writes and publishes in Scottish Gaelic, English and Polari.

John MacInnes, 3 April 1930 in Uig, Lewis – 10 May 2019, was a Scottish Gaelic scholar and authority on Scottish Gaelic oral tradition. He was born in Uig, Lewis, but grew up on Raasay, and took an active interest in Gaelic tradition while still young and made a conscious effort to seek it out amongst his family and community.

Alasdair MacIlleBhàin is a singer and songwriter from Mull, performing primarily in Scottish Gaelic, who has performed widely on an international basis.

Eilidh Watt was a Gaelic broadcaster and writer from the Isle of Skye. She was a campaigner for equality and women's rights.

Sian is a Scottish all-female traditional band who are known for their Gaelic vocal harmonies and celebrating Gaelic songs composed by women. They formed to raise the prominence of work by female Gaelic bards, which might not have received much attention or credit otherwise.

References

  1. HI-Arts: October 2003 Feature: Arthur Cormack [ permanent dead link ]
  2. Foot Stompin: Nuair Bha Mi Og
  3. Ruith na Gaoith
  4. Mairidh Gaol is Ceòl
  5. Cliar
  6. The Inaugural Scottish Trad Music Awards 2003
  7. Lasair Dhè
  8. Gun Tàmh
  9. Grinn Grinn
  10. "Record numbers vote at Trad Music awards". The Oban Times. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  11. Review – Arthur Cormack: Buanas
  12. Living Tradition CD review of ARTHUR CORMACK - Buanas
  13. "Bòrd na Gàidhlig chair appointed". Scottish Government website. 22 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  14. "Bòrd na Gàidhlig Chair resigns". Stornoway Gazette. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  15. "No. 61092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N12.
  16. 2015 New Year Honours List
  17. "Brother and Sister make Mod history". The Press and Journal . 18 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  18. "Here's for the competition – and Dunoon's scenery". The Press and Journal . 18 October 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  19. "Skye singer becomes fourth family member to win Mod Gold Medal". The Press and Journal . 19 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.