Alasdair White

Alasdair White is a Scottish folk musician born in 1983 on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. In 2001, when he was only 18 years old, he joined Battlefield Band as a virtuoso fiddle player.

Origins

White is a Scottish Gaelic speaker, and originates from Tong on the island of Lewis (in Gaelic, Eilean Leodhais) one of Scotland's Outer Hebrides islands, a geographical area where the Gaelic language and culture are of great importance to some of its native inhabitants; it is this, combined with general Scottish culture that influences White's playing style.

White's chief instrument is the fiddle, of which he generally plays in a West-Highland and North-West styles; these styles being heavily derived from a culture with a rich piping tradition. He also plays the whistle, banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, Highland and Small pipes, 'and probably anything else he can lay his hands on!'

Early career

White's musical career started while still at school playing with the Face the West, releasing their first CD, Edge of Reason, while still at school. The band continued on when White left to join Battlefield Band and have just released their second album. White will be appearing with Face the West at the Hebridean Celtic Festival in July 2009 for a Face the West and Friends gig on the main stage.

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (born 1978) is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. She is the lead singer from the traditional music group Danú. Her name is pronounced Murr-en Nick OWL-eve.

Biography

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh grew up on Inis Oirr, the smallest of the Aran Islands, and Cape Clear Island, another small island off the coast of County Cork. Both of these communities are Gaeltachtaí (Irish speaking areas), and Muireann's first language is Irish. This was to influence her later career, due to her early exposure to Irish language song, especially in the Sean nós tradition. She began playing piano and fiddle at an early age, before progressing to the whistle and eventually the flute. Muireann's early musical experiences also included accompanying her father, respected traditional Irish fiddle player Feargal Mac Amhlaoibh, to sessions. When Muireann moved to the West Kerry Gaeltacht, she joined the national folk theatre of Ireland, Siamsa Tíre. During the six years she spent with them, she participated in several of their major performances. While in Kerry her singing developed, learning and gaining influence from local singers such as the Begley family, Áine Ní Laoithe and Eilín Ní Chearna. She spent four years in Dublin attending the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology earning a diploma in fine art. She then studied at the University of Limerick and was awarded an MA in Traditional Music Performance.