Fiona J MacKenzie

Public Group active 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Fiona, a native of Morayshire, has lived in Dingwall for the last 23 years and after working in Gaelic Medium Education for 5 years, worked as the Màiri Mhòr Gaelic Song Fellow for Highland Council between 2002-09.

Although she was brought up in the Scots Folk Tradition (her artist father Duncan Macpherson, was a well known Scots folkie in Morayshire) and still sings in the Scots tongue also, particularly with the Songs of Robert Burns. She won the premier prize for Gaelic Learners at the National Mod in 1996, the Silver Pendant and subsequently won many other major prizes at National Mods and other singing competitions. She won the Premier award for Gaelic Singing in Scotland, the Ladies Gold Medal, for Fluent speakers, at the Royal National Mod in Stornoway in 2005.

Over the years her singing has taken her as far afield as Albuquerque and Sante Fe in New Mexico. She was described by a reviewer as ” one of the most compelling of our contemporary Gaelic singers”.  Fiona is now part of the new band, Kilmarnock Edition, a collection of singer songwriters all of whom are winners of the prestigious Burnsong competition. Fiona’s voice is pure but full of warmth and feeling, and always a pleasure to hear. In 2012 her latest album Archipelago, a unique presentation of songs of the Scottish islands, from North to South was released on the Greentrax label.