Alyth Catriona McCormack (born 1970), also known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

as Alyth on some of her releases, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She was brought up on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

in the Scottish

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

. In 2020 she has collaborated with the Art of Peace global project, composed and arranged by Mehran Alirezaei as vocalist.

Biography

As a young child in the 1970s, McCormack was immersed in the culture of Hebridean Scotland. She went on to study classical singing and drama at the

RSAMD The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founded ...

in Glasgow. Since then, she has worked on a string of collaborations, with folk, jazz, classical and

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

musicians.Footstompin Music
Footstompin.com During this time she recorded with various artists, appearing on over 16 albums between then and 2007, and in 2000 released her début solo album ''An Iomall'' () on Vertical records. In 2004, she began touring with ''On Eagles' Wings'', and toured again in 2007. Throughout 2007 and 2008, she performed worldwide with

The Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...

, appearing at venues such

Boston Symphony Hall Symphony Hall is a concert hall that is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. BSO founder Henry Lee Higginson commissioned architectural firm McKim, Mead and White to create a new ...

and

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. She toured with

Moving Hearts Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining music of Ireland, Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.Harris, Craig''Movin ...

during their UK Tour in 2008, and appeared at the Liverpool Philharmonic. She performed a concert for

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

alongside

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

and

Nóirín Ní Riain Nóirín Ní Riain (born 12 June 1951) is an Irish singer, writer, teacher, theologian, and authority on Gregorian Chant (plainchant, plainsong). She is primarily known for spiritual songs, but also sings Celtic music, sean-nós and Indian song ...

. She is a member of The Island Tapes, Shine and other bands. In 2009, she released her second solo album, ''People Like Me'', which featured members of the Scottish band Lau. McCormack married Irish musician Noel Eccles in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

in 2009. Her wedding dress was specially designed and made from Harris Tweed.

Discography

Solo albums

* 2000 – ''An Iomall'' * 2009 – ''People Like Me''

Collaborations

* 2002 – ''Sugarcane'' with Shine * 2004 – ''The Captain's Collection'' with The Captain's Collection * 2005 – ''On Eagles Wing'' * 2006 – ''Tha a laithean a’ dol seachad'' with Various Artists &

Paul Mounsey Paul Mounsey (born 15 April 1959) is a Scottish musician, composer, arranger and record producer. A graduate of Trinity College, London, where he studied with Richard Arnell, Mounsey has composed for film, television, theatre, and television co ...

* 2008 – ''The Island Tapes'' with The Island Tapes * 2007 – ''Sun Honey'' with

Vertical Records Vertical Records is an independent record label founded by Capercaillie member Donald Shaw in 2000, based in Glasgow, Scotland. Releases The label has predominantly focused on Celtic and roots music, with releases from Michael McGoldrick (''F ...

artists * 2006 – ''Persian Nights/Celtic Dawn'' with Savourna Stevenson * 2008 – ''Dhachaigh (Home)'', The

Murdo MacFarlane Murdo Macfarlane (15 February 1901—7 November 1982; ) known as ''Bàrd Mhealboist'' ("the Melbost Bard") was a published poet, songwriter and campaigner for Scottish Gaelic, especially during the 1970s, when the '' Ceartas'' movement was gaining ...

Songbook with Various artists

References

External links

Alyth's official websiteOfficial Alyth Myspace Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alyth Living people Scottish folk singers Scottish singer-songwriters People from the Isle of Lewis Date of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Scottish women singers Vertical Records artists 20th-century Scottish women singers 1970 births