Mary Macmaster (born 22 November 1955,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland) is a Scottish harpist and singer. She performs on the

clàrsach The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring gr ...

and the Camac electroharp, and she sings in English and

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

. She has worked with

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

Kathryn Tickell Kathryn Tickell, Order of the British Empire, OBE, Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 8 June 1967) is an English musician, noted for playing the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle. Music career Early life Kathryn Tickell was born in Walsall, to parent ...

Norma Waterson Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included h ...

, Donald Hay, the Poozies, and in the duo

Sìleas Sìleas (pronounced sheelis) is a Scottish harp duo. Patsy Seddon plays electric harp and gut-strung harp, and Mary Macmaster plays electric harp and metal-strung harp. They sing in Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gael ...

with

Patsy Seddon Patsy Seddon is a Scottish harpist, violinist, and traditional singer in Scots and Gaelic. Biography Seddon was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was a member of leading folk band The Poozies from 1990 until 2012, and the duo Sìleas with ...

. In 2013, she and Seddon were inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. As an adolescent, Macmaster bought an inexpensive harp that turned out to be wire-strung like the traditional Gaelic clàrsach. Lacking instruction in this older kind of harp, she mostly taught herself how to play it. In 1977, she studied at a Clàrsach Society summer school, and three years later she pursued

Celtic studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celts, Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art h ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. She recorded one album as a member of the band Sprangeen. She graduated in 1985, and with Patsy Seddon, a fellow student who also a member of Sprangeen, she formed the harp duo

, which was named for the 18th-century Scottish poet

Sìleas na Ceapaich Sìleas na Ceapaich (also known as Cicely Macdonald of Keppoch, Silis of Keppoch, Sìleas MacDonnell or Sìleas Nic Dhòmhnail na Ceapaich) was a Scottish poet whose surviving verses remain an immortal contribution to Scottish Gaelic literature ...

. During the same year, she started playing one of the first models of electric harp made by Joël Garnier. Macmaster has been a member of the folk band, The Poozies since 1990, and is the only remaining founder member. As of 2022, she oversees stage management as part of the team running the Edinburgh International Harp Festival.

Discography

* Sprangeen - (Springthyme SPR 1013 - 1984) * Clan Alba - 1995 * ''Sugar Cane'' - with Shine - 2001 * ''Bright Shiny Morning'' - with

- 2000 * La Boum! Marionette (compilation album) - 2005 * ''Cold Blow These Winter Winds'' - (compilation album) - 2006 *

& Ensemble Mystical * ''Songs of Separation'' - with

Songs of Separation Songs of Separation was a music project created in the aftermath of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum to explore through the medium of music ideas of separation. It was organised by double-bass player Jenny Hill and brought together t ...

- (2016) With

* ''Delighted with Harps'' (Lapwing, 1986) * ''Beating Harps'' (Green Linnet Records SIF 1089 - 1987) * ''Harpbreakers'' (Lapwing Records LAP 127 - 1990) * ''Play on Light'' (1996) With The Poozies * ''Dansoozies'' (1993) * ''Chantoozies'' (1995) * ''Come Raise Your Head'' (1997) * ''Infinite Blue'' (1998) * ''Raise Your Head: A Retrospective'' (2000) * ''Changed Days Same Roots'' (2003) * ''Yellow Like Sunshine'' (2009) * ''Into the Well'' (2015) * ''Punch'' (2018) With

Donald Hay Donny Hay (born 1959) is a former Scottish field hockey player who played for the Scotland men's national field hockey team gaining 51 caps as a striker during the 1980s. Hay also played for the Scotland indoor hockey team. He played club ho ...

* ''Love and Reason'' (2009) * ''Hook'' (2012) As guest * '' If on a Winter's Night...'', Sting (2009)

References

Scottish folk harpists Living people 1955 births Musicians from Glasgow The Poozies members {{UK-musician-stub