Copyright © 2014-16 Fiona J Mackenzie All Rights Reserved fiona @ fionamackenzie.org
Fiona is an established Gaelic singer but a fledging Songwriter living in the Highlands. Solely a singer until recently when she began songwriting and incorporating it into Gaelic drama. She has recently completed her Masters Degree in Songwriting and Performance at the University of the West of Scotland.
2013 saw Fiona begin her career in Gaelic music theatre with a chance to develop her own show for the National Theatre of Scotland. Entitled "Eun Bheag Chanaidh" (A Little Bird Blown Off Course), the show profiles the invaluable work carried out by American Folklorist, Margaret Fay Shaw, in her collection of Gaelic song, film and photography from the Hebrides in the early 20th century. The show toured as a work in progreress in 2013 and then was performed to two sellout audiences at Celtic Connections 2014.
She won the premier prize for Gaelic Learners at the National Mod in 1996, the Silver Pendant and subsequently won many other major prizes at National Mods and other singing competitions. She won the Premier award for Gaelic Singing in Scotland, the Ladies Gold Medal, for Fluent speakers, at the Royal National Mod in Stornoway in 2005.
In 2004 she won the coveted BBC Scotland Traditional Music Personality of the Year Award at the Scots Trad Music Awards. She has also been nominated as Gaelic Singer of the year in 2005, 2006, 2012 and 2015.
Her work in the Fellowship took her abroad to teach, lecture and perform, to Cape Breton, Germany, Estonia, Brittany, Holland, Seattle, New York, Washington DC, North Carolina, Virginia, Ireland and Wales.
In May 2015 Fiona became the archivist and manager of Canna House for the National Trust for Scotland. For Fiona , it has been the culmination of years spent studying the songs collected by Margaret Fay Shaw in the Hebrides and developing new creative work from this. Fiona is delighted to be able to play a part in the conservation and development of all the collections in Canna House, the songs, the photographs the butterflies, the cats………
See an article on her work, from the Scotsman, December 2015.
2013 saw Fiona begin her career in Gaelic music theatre with a chance to develop her own show for the National Theatre of Scotland. Entitled "Eun Bheag Chanaidh" (A Little Bird Blown Off Course), the show profiles the invaluable work carried out by American Folklorist, Margaret Fay Shaw, in her collection of Gaelic song, film and photography from the Hebrides in the early 20th century. The show toured as a work in progreress in 2013 and then was performed to two sellout audiences at Celtic Connections 2014.
She won the premier prize for Gaelic Learners at the National Mod in 1996, the Silver Pendant and subsequently won many other major prizes at National Mods and other singing competitions. She won the Premier award for Gaelic Singing in Scotland, the Ladies Gold Medal, for Fluent speakers, at the Royal National Mod in Stornoway in 2005.
In 2004 she won the coveted BBC Scotland Traditional Music Personality of the Year Award at the Scots Trad Music Awards. She has also been nominated as Gaelic Singer of the year in 2005, 2006, 2012 and 2015.
Her work in the Fellowship took her abroad to teach, lecture and perform, to Cape Breton, Germany, Estonia, Brittany, Holland, Seattle, New York, Washington DC, North Carolina, Virginia, Ireland and Wales.
In May 2015 Fiona became the archivist and manager of Canna House for the National Trust for Scotland. For Fiona , it has been the culmination of years spent studying the songs collected by Margaret Fay Shaw in the Hebrides and developing new creative work from this. Fiona is delighted to be able to play a part in the conservation and development of all the collections in Canna House, the songs, the photographs the butterflies, the cats………
See an article on her work, from the Scotsman, December 2015.
FIONA J MACKENZIE
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