![]() Natalie’s phenomenal stage presence has led to considerable media attention. In 1995, she was nominated as Entertainer of the Year. In 1994, her third album, Fit as a Fiddle, earned Natalie the Instrumental Artist of the Year Award. ![]() In 1992, she won the Roots/Traditional Artist Award. Natalie’s first three recordings gained major nominations and awards from the East Coast Music Association. Whether performing with a small format or with her full band, Natalie’s concerts are a dazzling blend of musical virtuosity and lively step dancing. Natalie has become a musical ambassador for a new musical generation of Cape Breton musicians. From a small beginning playing at dances and concerts in and around Cape Breton to representing Nova Scotia on the world’s stages. From the early days, she was encouraged by her father and musically influenced by her uncle, Buddy MacMaster, an undisputed master of the Cape Breton fiddle. Natalie began playing at age 9 after having been given a small fiddle by her great uncle. She was raised in a musical family steeped in Scottish heritage. She’s so giving.Your Connection to traditional and contemporary World Music, including folk, roots, global music, ethno and crosscultural fusionsĬomposer, virtuoso fiddler and skilled step dancer Natalie Ann MacMaster was born on Jin Troy, Nova Scotia, Canada. “She’s a musical star, but her commitment to her family and to me is a side nobody gets to see. ![]() “I think the thing I’m most proud of is Natalie,” Leahy said. “We do wrestle with fears about touring with the children - are they getting enough home life? But we also feel incredibly lucky to be together as a family and to be letting our children develop their musical talent.” MacMaster and Leahy both grew up playing music, and it has only helped their development as people and performers, MacMaster said. And here I am now doing almost exactly the same thing.”Ī Celtic Family Christmas, the couple’s first Christmas album, was released in 2016, and was followed by a nationwide tour not unlike the family’s current trek.įamily shows during the Christmas season have been staples since 2014, after MacMaster got over the fear that a month on the road would have a negative impact on her children. “But I was so in awe of Donnell’s family, of 11 siblings who could play and had a family band. “The fiddle was definitely common ground for us when we first got together,” MacMaster said in a statement. His family’s band is one of the most reputable Canadian Celtic acts in the country. Mixing music and family isn’t new to Leahy, either. The two-time Juno Award winner from Cape Breton, an Order of Canada recipient, has a teaching degree and homeschools her children. MacMaster has spent the bulk of the past two decades on the road during the Christmas holidays, both as a solo artist and with various members of her family along for the ride. It was a big success, but the birth of their youngest daughter made it too difficult to get back on the road in 2015. The first Christmas concert tour by the family took place four years ago. “It’s a perfect time to travel across Canada and bring light and happiness to families and fans across the country.” “Christmas is where this whole concept started and we are excited to be travelling as a family,” Leahy, a three-time Juno Award winner, said in a statement. The show will feature holiday favourites played by both the parents and four of their six children, who are known collectively as the MacMaster Leahy Kids. 22 in Peterborough, near the family’s sprawling farm in Douro, Ont. The couple’s 23-date A Celtic Family Christmas tour begins on Friday in Victoria, followed by performances Saturday at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo and Sunday at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre in Duncan. Members of the musical MacMaster-Leahy clan - including four fiddle-playing children - will be on the road this month, with three stops on Vancouver Island serving as the kickoff to Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy’s annual Christmas fiddle festivities. Note: MacMaster and Leahy will also perform Saturday at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo and Sunday at the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre in Duncan Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 905 Pandora Ave. What: Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy - A Celtic Family Christmas
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