Maeve Mackinnon
Gaelic and Scots Singer
"Whether singing unaccompanied or in various group arrangements, Maeve's outstanding performance left the crowd cheering for more."
..... Cambeltown Courier
Maeve Mackinnon is one of Scotland's foremost young Gaelic and Scots singers. Born and bred in Glasgow, with Skye and Swedish ancestry. She's sung from a very early age but it was really summer holidays on the Isle of Jura that cemented Maeve's appreciation of traditional music. While listening to a radio chart show on Jura, she first heard Capercaillie's Top 40 hit, Coisich a Ruin, and this kick-started her interest in Gaelic singing.
Although not a native Gaelic speaker, Maeve has been learning the language since 1999. She studied Gaelic at Clydebank College and attended several short courses at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaelic college on Skye. In 2000 she was accepted onto the Scottish Music course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. She majored in Scots song during her first year, but switched to Gaelic on the recommendation of the renowned Gaelic source singer, Kenna Campbell. Kenna, who was her principle Gaelic song coach, proved greatly valuable to her during her time there.
Maeve has toured Denmark and Germany as well as appearing at various venues in London and the Highlands. In 2003 she was the opening act for an international delegation for the Cuban Solidarity Campaign and she has sung at three peace rallies in Glasgow and Edinburgh to crowds of up to 15,000 people.
2004 was Maeve's busiest year so far, with performances at the Young Gaels concert at Celtic Connections and on BBC Radio Scotland's popular Scottish country dance-band show, Take The Floor. She has been involved in the Gaelic music series, Beolach, a documentary-style showcase of young musical talent for BBC Television. Then, having successfully juggled her studies with performing, Maeve graduated in July with a B.A. (Hons) from the RSAMD.
Since graduating, Maeve has been involved in teaching and hopes to pass on something of what she has learned to others. She presently teaches voice part-time for the RSAMD Outreach project in Sighthill, Glasgow and in 2004, she was musical director for South Ayrshire Council's "Broonie: The Legend" project, a Scots theatrical production for children who have no musical background.
Maeve believes in drawing from the Gaelic, Scots and Irish song traditions without segregating. She aims to combine ancient traditional songs with cutting edge arrangements, in the hope of bringing traditional music into the 21st Century as strong as ever.
Maeve can perform in the following contexts:
- as a solo artist - unaccompanied Gaelic and traditional singing
- as part of a duo - accompanied by guitar/bouzouki
- as part of a trio - accompanied by guitar and bodhran
Maeve's repertoire is steeped in traditional music and very diverse. Predominantly a Gaelic singer, Maeve also performs a variety of Irish and Scots songs. Her repertoire consists of slow and fast paced numbers, be it unaccompanied or accompanied or a combination of both.
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Tel: 0845 337 0588 or Email: debra@wedding-music-scotland.com
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