The Corrs
Borrowed Heaven
The Corrs are coming to Vancouver on August 5 to GM Place. The Dublin-born family, sisters Andrea, Caroline and Sharon and their brother Jim are a phenomenon. They have achieved enormous success worldwide and have sold over 27 million albums since their 1995 debut.
As well as platinum sales in 20 countries, they have won a host of international awards including the Brit Award for Best International Group and two Grammy nominations. Accolades have come from the United States, Europe and Asia for both their recorded work and their sell-out live shows.
The Corrs were raised a close-knit family and they all played instruments from an early age. They are an immensely talented, attractive and professional family of musicians. Giving full marks to their parents for their talents, Jim said, “herself and daddy were obviously very, very much a part of what we've become and who we are, both musically and personality wise.”
Sharon said, “the reason our sound is very melodic, is because of the music that mum and dad listened to: The Eagles, The Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, Fleetwood Mac...they were all a very strong part of our upbringing.”
Along the way, The Corrs have performed before some of the world's most influential people, including the Pope, Nelson Mandela, Presidents Clinton and Bush and most recently Queen Elizabeth II at the Golden Jubilee Party at the Palace. They have also recorded with many prestigious acts, with Bono, Ronnie Woods, Mick Fleetwood and The Chieftains all making guest appearances on the Corrs albums.
The Corrs have recently released their newest album entitled The Corrs: Borrowed Heaven. The liner notes include the words to the songs which were all written by the Corrs with the exception of Time Enough For Tears.
Musicians on the CD, are Andrea Corr on lead vocals, backing vocals and tin whistle; Sharon Corr on violin and backing vocals; Jim Corr on acoustic and electric guitars, piano and keyboards; and Caroline Corr on drums, percussion, backing vocals and bodhran.
Tracks are Summer Sunshine; Angel; Hideaway; Long Night; Goodbye; Time Enough For Tears; Humdrum; Even If; Borrowed Heaven; Confidence for Quiet; Baby Be Brave and Silver Strand.
For more information about The Corrs concert in Vancouver, see page 3. For a chance to win free tickets to their concert, see the front page of The Celtic Connection for details. For tour dates visit: www.thecorrswebsite.com/index2.htm.
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Coast String Fiddlers
Look To The Mountains
There is great life and energy to the Coast String Fiddlers and wherever these young people happen to be playing, toes will be tapping and audiences marvelling at their talents. But even more than that, they will be feeling great pride that these young boys and girls are keeping the great musical traditions alive.
And a great big thank you needs to go to the generous people and organizations of the Sunshine Coast for giving of their time and energy to ensure these youth people receive the financial and moral support they require to pursue and expand their musical talents.
Every summer, the Coast String Fiddlers present their annual (this year was the fourth annual) Sunshine Coast Summer School. The classes were from July 5-9 and held at Roberts Creek, B.C. It's a great time of fiddle, dance, fun and meeting some of the great fiddle champions from all over the world. It's also an opportunity to meet new friends with similar interests. The classes encourage a learning, non-competitive atmosphere for the whole family.
Instruments on the CD Look To The Mountains are: cello; guitar; accordion; piano and organ; Highland bagpipes; pipe band bass drum; octave violin; bodhran, spoons, shaker; stand-up string bass; congas; marching snare; mandolin; cymbals;and electric bass. There are 22 players listed on the CD.
There are 15 tracks on Look To The Mountains: Jig Set; Athol Highlanders; Ode To The Backeddy; Tamlin; Buchanan Birch; Mhari and Martin set; Country Girl and the Hungarian Fiddler; Waking Up In The Morning Set; Tribute To Robert Burns; The 103 and Highland Cathedral.
For more information about the Sunshine Coast Summer School, for bookings and to purchase Look To The Mountains, call John or Ann Law at (604) 886-4768, or Kathy Wood at (604) 740-0516. Visit: www.suncoastarts.com/coastfiddlers.html.
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Moira Kerr
Misty Moo and Friends
Well-known singer and Scottish recording artist Moira Kerr is a native of Glasgow and has toured Canada, the United States and Russia. For some time now, she has wanted to write and record a children's album. She said, "2003 has some memorable highlights for me, the most important was finally releasing my first children's story, Misty Moo and Friends. When I first started I didn't realise how much time, patience and hard work was involved. Getting the right people to portray the characters and the right musicians and singers for the new songs. Days and nights in the recording studio, sometimes until four in the morning, however, I feel it was worth the effort."
Apart from having an intriguing name, Misty Moo and Friends, the CD offers a wonderful story for children with some very interesting characters like...Henrietta Hen, Misty Moo the baby Highland calf, Tam the Bam cat, Rory of the Red Deer, and Chunky Chicken. Moira has a wonderful voice for telling the story and singing the songs that she has written.
The story takes place in the Scottish Highlands and the animals speak with a Scottish accent. It would be a wonderful teaching tool for younger children because there is a story and songs with Misty Moo playing one of the leading roles.
Moira Kerr wrote and sang all the songs on the popular seven video series Where Eagles Fly – videos of the mountains and lochs of Scotland produced by Hamish McGinnes in conjunction with the BBC UK. Two videos of the series has narrations by Sean Connery and Michael Palin. The videos are collectors for those with close ties to their native Scotland.
Moira has been singing from the age of three and progressing into the entertainment business was completely natural. When she won her first talent contest, her career was underway. Her songs, for which she often composes the music, are mainly of Scotland and the Highlands and these show a deep love and insight of her homeland. The albums that she has created have a wide appeal to all groups and her poetry, a new venture, will certainly appeal to a new generation.
For more information about Moira Kerr, visit: www.moirakerr.com. To purchase Misty Moo and Friends in North America, call Island Music at (206) 281-1998 or (604) 984-9110.
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