UCLA Performing Arts Natalie MacMaster
brings her irresistible Celtic fiddle music performance to Royce
Hall on Saturday at 8 p.m.
By Laura Morgan
Daily Bruin Contributor
Natalie MacMaster isn’t an ordinary violin player. In
fact, she doesn’t even consider herself a violinist; she
describes herself as a world-class fiddler.
Performing at Royce Hall on Saturday, MacMaster is known as Nova
Scotia’s favorite Celtic fiddler, MacMaster will mostly play
songs from her latest releases “In My Hands” and
“My Roots are Showing.”
Being a Canadian native, but playing Celtic music, may seem an
unlikely combination for some, but there is a strong history that
link the two together.
“Much of Nova Scotian music contains a lot of very old
traditional Scottish music, from its Celtic settlers from way
back,” MacMaster said in a phone interview. “It’s
very Celtic and some people have a tendency to assume that the
music I play is Irish. We have a little bit of Irish in our
tradition, but mostly Scottish.”
Raised in a family where music was no stranger, MacMaster chose
to become a musician at an early age.
“I was nine when I started,” MacMaster said.
“I received a fiddle from a relative of mine and I wanted to
play that night. The fiddle was three-quarter sized, so it fit
perfect, and I learned to play that night.”
Not only did MacMaster love playing, but it also came so easily
to her that she played a concert shortly after she received the
fiddle.
“I performed in a concert six months after I began,”
MacMaster said. “I always knew that I would want to do this
for the rest of my life from the day I started. I didn’t know
in what capacity I’d be doing it; I just knew that I’d
always play.”
Since then, MacMaster has never stopped playing, whether she is
performing for square dances in her hometown of Cape Breton or
representing Nova Scotia on the world’s stages. She has
already released five albums, three of which reached gold status in
Canada. In addition, she has also received a total of six East
Coast Music Awards for her work and a Grammy nomination for her
most recent recording, “My Roots are Showing.”
However, with her busy schedule, the nominations and awards
sometimes come when she least expects them.
“I think it’s a complete honor to be
nominated,” MacMaster said. “I was very surprised,
because the CD that was nominated, even though it was just released
last year in the States, was four years old in Canada. I had kind
of forgotten that it was eligible, so it was a real
surprise.”
Although MacMaster admits that her favorite music is Cape Breton
fiddle music, she decided to explore other realms of the music
world for her 1999 recording, “In My Hands.”
“Doing an album like this was actually something I had
been thinking about for the last five years or so,” MacMaster
said. “I kept putting them off, because there wasn’t an
album suitable to put them on. When the selection became big
enough, I decided that now is the time, and I put the CD
together.”
The album is colored with a touch of Latin rhythms and street
grooves, also incorporating jazz and pop, while collaborating with
other musicians, such as fiddler Mark O’Connor and Canadian
guitarist Jesse Cook. In addition, MacMaster went into a totally
different realm by performing vocally in “In My
Hands.”
MacMaster had never sung in any of her albums, but she was quick
to mention that she won’t be repeating the vocal performance
in Saturday night’s concert.
“This was the first time and probably the last time that
I’ll be singing on an album, but things aren’t
necessarily for sure,” MacMaster said. “But this
singing I tried is mostly talking in spoken word. So it’s not
very challenging in the vocal respect. However, I’m not a
singer; I’d much rather play the fiddle.”
For the past two months, music has been an ever-present part of
her life because of her international tour. Now on its America leg,
the tour stops at a different concert venue practically every
night.
“In terms of a career, this is definitely what I want to
be doing for the rest of my life,” MacMaster said.
“Touring does get tiring and it’s not a normal
lifestyle by any means. I love the studio, but if you’re not
on the road for so long, it’s really enjoyable.”
When not in the studio, touring, or playing in grand concert
halls, MacMaster loves to be at home and play what she loves most,
Cape Breton fiddle music.
“I grew up with it and it’s a part of my family, my
home and my community,” MacMaster said. “So it’s
very much a part of me. I enjoy coming home, and I play for square
dances and little concerts here and there, and it’s very much
a community thing and a family thing. There’s a lot of
dancing and it’s just really real and good.”
MUSIC: Natalie MacMaster will be performing at
Royce Hall on Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $30,
$25, $20 and $9 (UCLA students with valid ID) at the Central Ticket
Office. For more information call (310) 825-2101.