Natalie MacMaster (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

r from Troy, Inverness County,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. She has toured 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 ...

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

, and has recorded with

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

. She has appeared at the Celtic Colours festival in

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...

in Scotland and

MerleFest MerleFest is an annual "traditional plus" music festival held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina on the campus of Wilkes Community College. The festival, which is held the last weekend in April, was hosted by Grammy Award winner Doc Watson prior to ...

in the United States.

Background

MacMaster is the daughter of Alex and Minnie (''née'' Beaton) MacMaster and the sister of Kevin and David MacMaster. She is the niece of the late renowned Cape Breton fiddler

Buddy MacMaster Hugh Alan "Buddy" MacMaster (October 18, 1924 – August 20, 2014) was a Canadian fiddler. He performed and recorded both locally and internationally, and was regarded as an expert on the tradition and lore of Cape Breton fiddle music. Early ...

and the cousin of two other fiddlers,

Ashley MacIsaac Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and actor from Cape Breton Island. He has received three Juno Awards, winning for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots & Traditional Album – Solo at th ...

and Andrea Beaton. She is also distantly related to

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

. In 2002, she married the fiddler Donnell Leahy of the Leahy family band, and moved to Lakefield, Ontario. They have seven children, and have performed and recorded together as a duo, and occasionally include their children, who also play fiddle, in their performances.

Musical career

MacMaster began playing the fiddle at the age of nine, and made her performing debut the same year at a square dance in Glencoe Mills, Nova Scotia. When she was 16, she released her first album, ''Four on the Floor'', and a second album, ''Road to the Isle'', followed in 1991. Her first album was self-produced, while her second was co-produced by John Morris Rankin ( The Rankin Family) and Tom O'Keefe. Both albums were initially released only on cassette, but

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

omitted a few tracks and re-released them as ''A Compilation'' in 1998. In 1999, she performed at the Juno Awards show in Hamilton. In recent years she has expanded her musical repertoire, mixing her

roots with music from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and Ireland, as well as American bluegrass. In 2004, MacMaster appeared on

Sharon, Lois & Bram Sharon, Lois & Bram (also known as Sharon, Bram & Friends, Sharon & Bram or Sharon & Randi) are a Canadian children's music group founded in Toronto, Ontario, 1978. The group's original lineup consisted of Sharon (née Trostin) Hampson, L ...

's 25th Anniversary Concert special titled ''25 Years of Skinnamarink'' that was broadcast on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

on January 1, 2004, at 7:00pm. She performed two songs with the trio, "C-H-I-C-K-E-N" and "Grandpa's Farm".

Awards

MacMaster has received a number of Canadian music awards, including several "Artist of the Year" awards from the East Coast Music Association, two

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s for best instrumental album, and "Fiddler of the Year" from the

Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3, 1973, when a gr ...

. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate from

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

in New York in 2006. In 2006, she was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and, in 2020, she was made a member of the

Order of Nova Scotia The Order of Nova Scotia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The order was instituted through the ''Order of Nova Scotia Act'' on 1 June 2001, with the first appointments beginning in 2002. The order is int ...

. In 2023, she was inducted into the Canadian Fiddle Hall of Honour at the 2023 Canadian Grand Masters event in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Other appearances

* ''Traditional Music From Cape Breton Island'', Nimbus NI5383, 1993 (two tracks) * ''Celtic Colours – The Road Home'', 1997 (one track) * ''Celtic Colours – The Second Wave'', 1998 (one track) * ''Celtic Colours – Forgotten Roots'', 1999 (one track) * ''Roots Music: An American Journey'', Rounder 0501, 2001 (one track) * ''Songs for the Savoy'', 2001 (one track) * ''Celtic Colours — The Colours of Cape Breton'', 2002 (one track) * ''Celtic Colours — Volume VII'', 2003 (one track) * '' The Rough Guide to the Music of Canada'', 2005 (one track) * ''Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy and Peace; Songs:A Christmas Jig/Mouth of the Tobique Reel; 2008 (Sony BMG) * ''Thomas Dolby: Amerikana EP'', Songs:''Toad Lickers'' and ''17 Hills'', 2010 (Lost Toy People, Inc)

References

External links

* * *
"Cape Breton fiddling in reel time" (TED2002)
*
"Fiddling in reel time" (TED2003)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmaster, Natalie 1972 births Living people 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian women pianists 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 21st-century Canadian women pianists Canadian female dancers Canadian Folk Music Award winners Canadian folk violinists Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian women violinists and fiddlers Cape Breton fiddlers Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year winners Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Nova Scotia Musicians from Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Teachers College alumni People from Cape Breton Island People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia People from Peterborough County Rounder Records artists