Fiona Karen Ritchie MBE (born 1960) is a Scottish radio broadcaster best known as the producer and host of '' The Thistle & Shamrock'', an hour-long

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considera ...

program that airs weekly throughout the United States on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR). She also curates ThistleRadio, a 24/7 web-based music channel devoted to new and classic music from Celtic roots, and is co-author of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Best Seller ''Wayfaring Strangers''. The radio program has won numerous awards since its inception in 1981, offering a fusion of traditional and contemporary Celtic sounds, interwoven with interviews, in-studio performances and Ritchie's own trademark commentary in her "soft Scots" dialect.

Early years

Ritchie was born and raised in Scotland, where she went to the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built ...

for her undergraduate education. While there, she was invited to spend one semester in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

in the United States, which was when she first heard NPR. After graduating in Scotland, she returned to North Carolina and, although initially pursuing post-graduate research, was hired by

WFAE WFAE (90.7 MHz) is a non-commercial public radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the main NPR news and information member in the Charlotte region. The station's main studios and offices are at One University Place in the Universi ...

FM, the NPR station in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, to oversee fundraising and promotion efforts. In her early years, Ritchie guest hosted live radio shows featuring everything from

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

, also producing and presenting many live concerts. WFAE was a new station open to new ideas, and in 1981 Ritchie began a weekly hour of

for its local audience. ''The Thistle & Shamrock'' was picked up for national broadcast less than two years after this debut. The program's national following grew quickly, and it was soon established as one of NPR's most widely heard and best-loved music offerings. During her years based in North Carolina, Ritchie visited radio stations coast-to-coast across the US, presenting live broadcasts and events, and in 1989 and 1990, traveled to 22 US cities with The Thistle & Shamrock Concert Tour.

Return to Scotland

Fiona Ritchie came full circle to re-settle and create her radio programs at home in Scotland. On numerous return trips to the United States, she has visited and raised funds for NPR member stations everywhere from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

to Alaska, and hosted festival concerts from

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax Count ...

to Chicago's Grant Park. Along the way she has forged a strong association with the United States, and made a unique contribution to the American airwaves. In the UK, Fiona Ritchie has presented numerous programs for

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, launching the Radio Scotland world music series "Celtic Connections" in 1993. She has produced and presented many live concert performances and broadcasts, including a musical event for Prince Charles in 2001 at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

in Edinburgh, and has acted in an advisory capacity for arts organisations in the US and UK, including serving on the Scottish advisory committee for the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

. In 2006, Ritchie launched Thistlepod, a free podcast from NPR, which ran until her radio programs became available to stream via

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

and Ritchie's ThistleRadio website. Her partnership with

gave rise to ThistleRadio in 2012, a 24/7 web-based music channel devoted to new and classic music from Celtic roots, now hosted by SomaFM internet radio. Ritchie has also produced several CD compilations and authored a 2005 volume on Celtic music for the NPR Curious Listener's Guide book series. In 2014, ''Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

'', her major book, with CD, which was named after The Wayfaring Stranger

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, was published by UNC Press. The book was co-authored by Doug Orr with a Foreword by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

. ''Wayfaring Strangers'' appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in two different categories.

Awards and honours

Ritchie's awards include six World Medals from the New York Festivals International Competition for Radio Programming, and a Flora Macdonald Award from

St. Andrews University (North Carolina) St. Andrews University is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The university was established in 1958 as a result of a merger of Flora MacDonald College in Red Springs and Presbyterian Junior College; it wa ...

, which also conferred upon her the degree of honorary doctorate. Hundreds of ''Thistle & Shamrock'' tapes and vinyl albums, along with concert recordings, playlists, newsletters, and related materials are now part of a working archive in the Scottish Heritage Center at St. Andrews University (North Carolina). The archive is open to anyone interested in studying the rich heritage of Celtic music. Ritchie also serves on the Advisory Board of the Swannanoa Gathering folk arts workshops at

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a requisite course of study, work an on-campus ...

in North Carolina. In 2003 the

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage The Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage (CFCH) is one of three cultural centers within the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. Its motto is "culture of, by, and for the people", and it aims to encourage understanding and cultural sus ...

honoured her for "creating an on-air community, serving as a musical ambassador, and connecting listeners with the best of traditional and contemporary artistry.” Ritchie was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

for services to broadcasting and traditional Scottish music. In 2016 she received the Hamish Henderson Award for Services to Traditional Music, named for the influential folklorist, poet, songwriter and scholar who died in 2002. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made a substantial difference to the Scottish

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

world. Upon receiving this honour, Ritchie was also inducted into Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Ritchie's ThistleRadio music channel on SomaFM was awarded Best Music Show: Country/Folk/Blues in the 2017 Online Radio Awards presented by the British streaming service

Mixcloud Mixcloud is a popular British online music streaming service that allows for the listening and distribution of radio shows, DJ mixes and podcasts, which are crowdsourced by its registered users. In April 2018, Mixcloud announced that it raised $ ...

. In 2018,

Folk Alliance International Folk Alliance International (previously the ''North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance'') is a non-profit organization that produces an annual conference that is the world's largest gathering of the folk music industry and community. Founded ...

inducted Ritchie into their Folk DJ Hall of Fame.

References

External links

''Thistle Radio'' – official site''The Thistle & Shamrock'' via streaming audioThistle Radio
on SomaFM
"Hamish Henderson Services to Traditional Music Award"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Fiona 1960 births Living people American information and reference writers American writers about music American women podcasters American podcasters NPR personalities Scottish expatriates in the United States Scottish radio presenters Alumni of the University of Stirling Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century American women