Gwen Swick is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

singer-songwriter from Elora,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Although she has recorded and performed as a solo artist, she has been best known as a member of folk music groups such as

Tamarack ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

, The Three Marias,Peggy Nagle, "Uplifting folkie : Gwen Swick tackles romantic themes that invariably end on positive note". ''

Waterloo Region Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener, Waterloo, Ontario, Water ...

'', August 6, 1992. Quartette and The Marigolds.Robert Reid, "Marigolds for a State of bliss". ''

Guelph Mercury The ''Guelph Mercury'' was an English language daily newspaper published in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It published a mix of community, national and international news and is owned by the Torstar Corporation. The newspaper, in many incarnations, ...

'', September 24, 2009. Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, she grew up in a variety of Canadian cities as her father was a member of the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

.Lynn Saxberg, "Swick rides back into Ottawa on rave wave over solo album". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', February 15, 1996. After studying music at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, she began performing as a singer-songwriter in the mid-1980s.Evelyn Erskine, "Gwen Swick's sound piques interest". ''

'', October 24, 1985. She recorded demos with

Eddie Schwartz Edward Sydney Schwartz Order of Canada, C.M. (born December 22, 1949) is a Canadian musician who had moderate success as a recording artist in the early 1980s before becoming a successful songwriter and record producer in the late 1980s and the ...

for a planned debut album in this era, but paused her career for a few years after giving birth to her daughter Anna with husband Randall Coryell. She joined Tamarack in 1991, and performed with Cherie Camp and

Shirley Eikhard Shirley Rose Eikhard (7 November 1955 – 15 December 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter. Although moderately successful in Canada as a performer in her own right, she had her greatest Canadian and international success as a songwriter for ...

in The Three Marias during the same era. She released her self-titled debut album in 1993, and followed up in 1995 with ''A Pebble of Mercy''. She joined Quartette in 1996 following the death of

Colleen Peterson Colleen Susan Peterson (November 14, 1950 – October 9, 1996) was a Canadian country and folk singer, who performed both as a solo artist and as a member of the band Quartette. Career Peterson began performing in coffeehouses in Ottawa in 196 ...

. In 2002 she released her third solo album, ''Love and Gold''. In the 2000s she also performed with

Caitlin Hanford Caitlin Hanford is an American and Canadian country and bluegrass singer and a music teacher. She is a member of the group Quartette and also the band The Marigolds.Suzie Vinnick Suzie Vinnick is a Canadian roots and blues singer-songwriter.Greg Quill"Suzie Vinnick: Why this songwriter rents her home" ''Toronto Star'', 10 January 2009. She performs as a solo artist and contributes to variety of band projects, including ...

as The Marigolds. Her songs have also appeared in film soundtracks, including ''

Never Talk to Strangers ''Never Talk to Strangers'' is a 1995 psychological erotic thriller film directed by Peter Hall and starring Antonio Banderas and Rebecca De Mornay. Plot Psychologist Dr. Sarah Taylor is a guarded, aloof criminal psychologist who interviews a cl ...

'', ''Heater'', and ''Sleeping Dogs''.Robert Reid, "Odette returns to his roots; Award-winning filmmaker drawn to native Kitchener to shoot new project". ''

'', September 9, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swick, Gwen 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian women singers Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian women singer-songwriters Musicians from Ontario People from Centre Wellington Year of birth missing (living people) Living people