Go to Natalie MacMaster on Facebook and it will get you there.
- The niece of influential Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster, Natalie MacMaster has turned the music of Cape Breton, an island off the east coast of Canada near Nova Scotia, into an international phenomenon. Whether performing with her band, featuring guitar, piano, bass, drums and percussion, or with a classical orchestra such as the Edinburgh Symphony, MacMaster has thrilled audiences with.
- The macmaster leahy kids made an appearance on the 2017 season of nbc’s little big shots. THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD IS FILLED WITH EXTRAORDINARY STORIES. BUT FEW MATCH THE BEGUILING TRUE-LIFE TALE OF NATALIE MACMASTER AND DONNELL LEAHY, CANADA’S REIGNING COUPLE OF CELTIC MUSIC, WHOSE DAZZLING CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS UNDERPIN AN.
MacMaster performing in Centralville, Massachusetts, 2007 | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Natalie Ann MacMaster |
| Born | June 13, 1972 (age 48) Troy, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Genres | Cape Breton fiddle music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Fiddle, Piano, Vocals |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Rounder Records |
| Associated acts | Buddy MacMaster Donnell Leahy |
| Website | NatalieMacMaster.com |
Natalie MacMasterCMONS (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian fiddler from the rural community of Troy in Inverness County, Nova Scotia who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. MacMaster has toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana and Alison Krauss, and has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma. She has appeared at the Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, Celtic Connections in Scotland, and MerleFest in the United States.
Background[edit]
MacMaster is the daughter of Alex and Minnie (née Beaton) MacMaster and the sister of Kevin and David MacMaster. She is the niece of the late renowned Cape Breton fiddler Buddy MacMaster and the cousin of two other fiddlers, Ashley MacIsaac and Andrea Beaton. She is also distantly related to Jack White.[1]
In 2002, she married fiddler Donnell Leahy of the Leahy family band, and moved to Lakefield, Ontario. Leahy and MacMaster have seven children, and have performed and recorded together as a duo, and occasionally include their children, who also play fiddles, in their performances.[2][3]
Musical career[edit]
MacMaster began playing the fiddle at the age of nine,[4] and made her performing debut the same year at a square dance in Glencoe Mills, Nova Scotia.[citation needed] When she was sixteen she released her first album, Four on the Floor, and a second album, Road to the Isle, followed in 1991. Her first album was self-produced,[4] while her second was co-produced by John Morris Rankin (The Rankin Family) and Tom O'Keefe (as per original cassette jacket). Both albums were initially released only on cassette, but Rounder Records omitted a few tracks and re-released as A Compilation in 1998. In 1999, she performed at the Juno Awards show in Hamilton.[5]
In recent years she has expanded her musical repertoire, mixing her Cape Breton roots with music from Scotland and Ireland, as well as American bluegrass.[6] Free printscreen tool for mac.
In 2004, MacMaster appeared on Sharon, Lois & Bram's 25th Anniversary Concert special titled '25 Years of Skinnamarink' that aired on CBC on January 1, 2004 at 7:00pm. She performed two songs with the trio: 'C-H-I-C-K-E-N' and 'Grandpa's Farm'.
Awards[edit]
Uninstall microsoft office 2016 mac manual. She has received a number of Canadian music awards, including several 'Artist of the Year' awards from the East Coast Music Association, two Juno Awards for best instrumental album, and 'Fiddler of the Year' from the Canadian Country Music Association. MacMaster was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Niagara University in New York in 2006. In 2006, she was made a member of the Order of Canada, and in 2020, she was made a member of the Order of Nova Scotia.[7][8]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US Heat | US Indie | US Folk | US Grass | |||
| Four on the Floor |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| Road to the Isle |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| Fit as a Fiddle |
| — | — | — | — | — |
|
| A Compilation |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| No Boundaries |
| — | — | — | — | — |
|
| In My Hands |
| 32 | — | — | — | — |
|
| My Roots Are Showing |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| Live |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| Blueprint |
| — | — | — | — | 6 | |
| Natalie & Buddy MacMaster: Traditional Music from Cape Breton Island |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| Yours Truly |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| Cape Breton Girl |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| One(with Donnell Leahy) |
| 23 | 4 | 15 | 6 | — | |
| A Celtic Family Christmas(with Donnell Leahy) |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
| Sketches |
| — | — | — | — | — | |
Singles[edit]
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN AC | |||
| 1996 | 'Catharsis' | — | No Boundaries |
| 1997 | 'Fiddle and Bow' (with Bruce Guthro) | — | |
| 'The Drunken Piper' (with Cookie Rankin) | — | ||
| 1999 | 'In My Hands' | 18 | In My Hands |
| 'Get Me Through December' (with Alison Krauss) | 40 | ||
| 2004 | 'Appropriate Dipstick' | — | Blueprint |
| '—' denotes releases that did not chart | |||
Music videos[edit]
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 'Catharsis' | |
| 1997 | 'Fiddle and Bow' (with Bruce Guthro) | Andrew MacNaughtan |
| 'The Drunken Piper' (with Cookie Rankin) | ||
| 1999 | 'In My Hands' | Christopher Mills |
| 'Get Me Through December' (with Alison Krauss) | Mark Hesselink | |
| 2004 | 'Appropriate Dipstick' | |
| 2014 | 'Go Tell It on the Mountain' (with Johnny Reid and The Rankins) | Margaret Malandrucco |
Other appearances[edit]
- Traditional Music From Cape Breton Island, Nimbus NI5383, 1993 (two tracks)
- Celtic Colours – The Road Home, 1997 (one track)
- Celtic Colours – The Second Wave, 1998 (one track)
- Celtic Colours – Forgotten Roots, 1999 (one track)
- Roots Music: An American Journey, Rounder 0501, 2001 (one track)
- Songs for the Savoy, 2001 (one track)
- Celtic Colours — The Colours of Cape Breton, 2002 (one track)
- Celtic Colours — Volume VII, 2003 (one track)
- The Rough Guide to the Music of Canada, 2005 (one track)
- Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy and Peace; Songs:A Christmas Jig/Mouth of the Tobique Reel; 2008 (Sony BMG)
- Thomas Dolby: Amerikana EP, Songs:Toad Lickers and 17 Hills, 2010 (Lost Toy People, Inc)
References[edit]
- ^'White Stripes Gear up for Canada, Find Family Along the Way', SoulShine, June 19, 2007.
- ^Institute, Courtesy of the Park City. 'MacMaster and Leahy have combined their love of music with their love of family'. www.parkrecord.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^Sisneros, Johnna. 'REVIEW: Step-dancing violinists earn standing ovation in A Celtic Celebration at Lied Center'. The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ ab'Natalie MacMaster'. Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^'Live Reviews: The 1999 Juno Awards March 7, 1999 Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ON'. Chart Attack, — Mike McCann
- ^'A Celtic Celebration with Natalie MacMaster'. National Arts Centre, Ottawa.
- ^'Governor General to invest 41 recipients into the Order of Canada'. The Governor General of Canada web site. May 2, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^'Order of Nova Scotia recipients-2020'. Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
External links[edit]
- Natalie MacMaster at TED
When the time came to interview fiddle specialist Jocelyn Pettit, I started thinking back to my earliest memories of the instrument, and realized that I didn't have many. My older brother actually played one as a kid, but back then we called it a violin. The only time I really heard somebody play the heck out of a fiddle was when 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' came on the radio.
There's a lot more to fiddle music than redneck country tunes, though. As Pettit explains on the line from her Squamish home, the world offers a multitude of fiddle styles.
'So many!,' she declares. 'Oh my goodness. Within quote-unquote 'Celtic' music there's the styles of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall in England. Also Brittany in France, and Galicia, Spain--those regions have their own Celtic music styles. And then within Canada you have Cape Breton, you have French-Canadian--which I love--and you have old-time, bluegrass, Métis.'
The 26-year-old Pettit has been making a name for herself with the fiddle since she was a teenager. She's traveled the world, shared the stage with legendary Irish folk band the Chieftains, and played for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles in Scotland. She's recorded two albums--her self-titled debut in 2010 and Caravan in 2015--and expects to release her third, Wind Rose, this year.
And she's currently taking part in the 2021 Festival du Bois, which runs online until April 30 and also features the likes of Florent Vollant, Sirène et Matelot, Genticorum, Le Winston Band, Jocelyne Baribeau, Loig Morin, and Andy Hillhouse and Pierre Schryer.
Natalie Macmaster Facebook
Pettit has fiddle music in her blood, you could say. Her great-grandfather was a dance caller who would team up with a fiddler for community events. The first time she heard fiddle music live was when she saw Cape Breton's Natalie MacMaster in concert.
'She was my first inspiration,' recalls Pettit, 'and I was drawn to the lively energy and fun spirit of East Coast music.'
She started playing fiddle when she was eight years old, which eventually led to her getting a Master of Music Degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. It was there that she met American cellist Ellen Gira, a specialist in old-time music, who she performs with as a duo. Pettit and Gira often transform into a trio with the addition of Scottish guitarist Ali Hutton.
And Pettit also leads the Jocelyn Pettit Band, which includes her father Joel Pettit on bodhrán, her mother Siew Wan Khoo on piano and fiddle, and friends Erik Musseau on whistles/pipes and Adam Dobres on guitar.
Pettit performs a 45-minute bilingual concert with her full band at Festival du Bois, which also showcases another of her talents. Less than four minutes into the recorded concert she rises from her chair to prepare for some stepdancing, a skill she's been working on since first discovering the fiddle.
'I love to dance,' she says, 'and the music is for dancing--they go hand in hand. It's hard to keep still sometimes. And I love the percussive element of stepdancing.'
Pettit will also appear (virtually) at the New England Folk Festival this weekend, at the Kelowna Maplefest on May 2, and with Gira at the Northwest Folklife Festival on May 28. She really enjoys playing festivals, counting Festival du Bois among her faves.
Natalie Mcmaster Facebook Photos
'It celebrates French-Canadian culture--music, dance, food, crafts--and brings the community together. There's such a fun energy and friendliness to the festival; it's always been such a positive experience being there. And they did a great job this year with the online events.'
COVID-19 has obviously made it extremely difficult for artists like Pettit to survive financially these days. Not that it was easy making a living as a fiddle player even before the pandemic hit.
'It's all about doing a combination of teaching and performing and recording,' Pettit relates. 'I try to do as much as possible of all of those, 'cause I love them all. COVID has definitely put a halt to the live performance, but I've been busy doing a lot of online performances, live streaming, and quite a bit of teaching, fiddle and dance workshops. I just love connecting with people, and it's harder these days, that's for sure.'
A prime example of Pettit connecting with folks was her performance with Ellen Gira and Ali Hutton at the 2020 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, Scotland. That was one of the last shows she did before the pandemic devastated the concert scene.
Natalie Macmaster Youtube
'The Celtic Connections festival is such a huge festival,' she raves, 'and it's incredible. There's so much music happening, and the city is buzzing with excitement. It's so special to be able to connect with the audience and experience that shared energy and all come together through music. Trusted mac cleaner virus. It's one of the things I love most, and I can't wait till it's back.'
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