Scotland
Catherine-Ann MacPhee, one of the most respected and beloved Gaelic singers of her generation, was born in 1959. on the Gaelic-speaking island of Barra. Blessed with a beautiful, powerful voice and prodigious memory for lengthy traditional lyrics (which she learned from her mother and grandmother), even as a child, Catherine-Ann was entertaining her neighbouring islanders at local ceilidhs. The rich musical heritage of these ceilidhs, protected by the island’s remoteness, flourished: Barra did not get electricity until the mid-60s. Searching the Highlands and Islands for authentic talent for the first-ever Gaelic-language theatre company, Fir Chlis (“Northern Lights”), Mairead Ross, discovered the 17-year-old singer. After three years of acting and singing with Fir Chlis, the troupe disbanded, and Catherine-Ann joined the English-language theatre group 7:84, mentored by the late John McGrath, who provided intensive theatrical training. 7:84 toured widely in Europe and was warmly received in Cape Breton, where at an impromptu ceilidh in Iona, Catherine-Ann knew that some day she would return to Canada. Ian Green of Greentrax Records convinced her to record several cds to share her glorious traditional music with a wider audience. Catherine-Ann’s varied career, encompassing live performances in music and theatre across Europe and North America, recordings, teaching Gaelic music in countless workshops to children and adults, television work—including the Gaelic-language television series Can Seo and, more recently, hosting a series of lively interviews with well-known traditional singers and musicians for the Gaelic television channel—has kept her in demand in Scotland even though she has been living in Ottawa, Canada for ten years with her husband Angus and two children, Mairead and Alexander. In addition to her involvement in Gaelic events all over North America, she has recently performed at a Hogmany (New Years’) concert in South Uist, broadcast on the Gaelic television network, and this autumn will perform at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards ceremony in Perth, Scotland as well as at Celtic Colours.
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