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User:Maighread Stewart

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Margaret Stewart[1] is an award winning Scottish Gaelic singer and Gaelic Song specialist from the Isle-of-Lewis. She was born on 12th June, 1956 and was brought up in the Gaelic speaking community of Upper Coll in the district of Back, Outer Hebrides.


Singing Career

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Margaret Stewart's professional singing career began in 1992, after she won the An Comunn Gàidhealach Gold Medal at the Royal National Mod. In 2008 she was nominated and voted Gaelic Singer of the Year, at the Scots Trad Music Awards.

In October, 2011 she was appointed Musician in Residence at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (the Gaelic College in Skye), where she is undertaking further Gaelic Song research and worked with the local schools and extended community. Prior to that she was one of the core Gaelic Song Specialist on the Tobar an Dualchas / Kist O'Riches project [2], where she was responsible for cataloguing the Gaelic song archives held at the School of Scottish Studies [3], University of Edinburgh, as well as some material from the Canna Collection and the BBC. This material is now available online as a valuable, free research resource Tobar an Dualchais – Kist o Riches.Port

She has recorded two albums; Fhuair mi Pòg [4] and Coll mo Rùn, on the Greentrax label with piper Allan MacDonald of the Glenuig MacDonald brothers. These two albums focus on the relationship between Gaelic song and the music of the Great Highland Bagpipe, referred to as Pibroch, Ceòl Mòr or Pìobaireachd. In 2008 she released her first solo album, Togaidh mi mo Sheòlta, focusing on rarely heard material and on the close connections with fellow musicians and singers in the Irish Gaeltacht . All three albums have been produced by Iain MacDonald of Glenuig and include such musicians as Ingrid Henderson, Iain MacFarlane and Allan Henderson (both of Blazin' Fiddles), Griogair Lawrie, Kathleen MacInnes, Mark Kelly of Altan, Mick O'Brien (musician), Aoife O'Brien, Ian Hardie, D James Ross and Strathclyde Police Pipe Band.

Since 2007 she has been a visiting lecturer on the BA Traditional Music Degree Course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly RSAMD), as part of their Historical Studies coursework. in Glasgow and has been a regular tutor at the Willie Clancy Summer School, County Clare and the Ceòlas Summer School[5] in South Uist. She occassionally conducts short courses, at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and for Feis Rois.

Discography

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ALBUMS

Fhuair Mi Pòg (1998)- Greentrax CDTRAX 132
Colla Mo Rùn (2001) - Greentrax CDTRAX 217
Togaidh mi mo Sheòlta, Along the Road Less Travelled (2008) - Greentrax CDTRAX 311


COMPILATIONS

Gaelic Women - 'Ar Cànan 's ar Ceòl'
Celtic Colours Festival - The Second Wave
Celtic Women from Scotland
An Leabhar Mòr, na h-Òrain
Òrain nan Gaidheal, Edinburgh Festival 1997
Scottish Harps, Edinburgh Festival 1998
Ceol agus Foinn Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
Rogha Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy
Scotland - The Music & The Song (20 Year Profile of Greentrax)
The Best of Scottish Music vol 2 (Greentrax Recordings 15th Anniversary)


GUEST APPEARANCES

Allan Henderson, Established 1976 - Allan Henderson of Blazin' Fiddles)
Eadarainn - Rona Lightfoot


Television Work

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Summary -

Soundtrack for BBC Scotland film 'St Kilda Wedding'
Soundtrack for BBC Scotland series 'Na h-Eilthirich' (The Emigrants)
Highland Sessions
Aig Cridhe 'ar Ciùil for BBC Scotland
Fonn Mo Bheatha
Ceòl Mo Bhrathair (My Brother's Music)
Togaidh Sinn Fonn
Barail Bhoireannaich
Horo Gheallaidh
Lorg nam Bàrd
BBC Alba Hogmanany Show
An Isles Christmas for BBC Alba
Togaidh Sinn Fonn
Talla a' Bhaile for BBC Scotland
Aite mo Ghaoil
First Hogmanay Show on the Gaelic Channel, BBC Alba
First broadcasting of 'The Trads' award ceremony by the Gaelic television channel, BBC Alba
'Port' television series, produced by Bees Nees for BBC Alba.


References

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1. Debbie Koritsas Living Tradition Magazine, Issue 80. Retrieved on 2009-07-27
2. Peter Urpeth Living Tradition Review of Colla Mo Rùn. Retrieved on 2009-7-27
3. Hands Up For Trad Traditional Music Awards 2008 Scots Trad Music Awards. Retrieved on 2009-07-27
4. Sing Out! Magazine Album Review Retrieved 2009-07-27
5. The Best Albums of 2008 by the Hot Artistes, Chosen by Julie Fowlis in The Guardian Retrieved on 2009-07-27
6. Foot Stompin' Celtic Music, Artiste Information Retrieved on 2009-07-27
7. Celtic Connections 2008, Hi Arts Review Retrieved on 2008-07-07
8. Fhuair Mi Pòg. Greentrax Recordings Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-0809
9.Tobar an Dualchais, [6]

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Margaret Stewart's Official website
Margaret Stewart's official MySpace Page
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Musician in Residence