| Catriona Macdonald | |
| Instrument: | Fiddle |
| Genre: | Folk music Celtic |
| Occupation: | Musician, music teacher, academic |
| Years Active: | 1983–present |
| Label: | Peerie Angel |
| Associated Acts: | Blazin' Fiddles String Sisters The Unusual Suspects |
| Website: | Official website |
| Current Members: | David Milligan (piano) Conrad Ivitsky (double bass) James Mackintosh (drums, percussion) |
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]
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 Fiddle Frenzy,[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.