BY MARCIA A. CHIDESTER
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
For Natalie MacMaster, fiddling has always been a family affair.
A relative presented her with her first fiddle. Her father taught her how to play it. And famed fiddler Buddy MacMaster is her uncle.
"Music is part of my history--my bloodline," said the 37-year-old Grammy nominee.
MacMaster's Christmas show, "A Cape Breton Christmas"--which mingles classic Christmas carols with the Celtic melodies from her native Cape Breton, Canada--is one of six musical events George Mason University will host this holiday season.
MacMaster credits Buddy MacMaster for her signature blend of Gaelic, bluegrass, jazz, rock and classical music.
"He is responsible for my sound, just through hearing him perform live," she said.
It's a style Natalie has dished up for audiences for 27 years.
MacMaster yearns to pass the legacy of music on to her three children, who range in age from 9 months to 4 years old. But she is often torn between the time demands of a young family and a musical career that has included collaboration with such notable musicians as Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Simon, Carlos Santana and Faith Hill.
To achieve a balance between career and family, MacMaster has cut her schedule to only a fraction of what it once was.
"I'm incredibly choosy about what I take on, so I can spend time with the children," she said.
MacMaster and her husband, fiddler Donnell Leahy, will embark on a 50-city tour in January, and they are taking their children along.
"I just bought a motor home," she said. "I can't wait."
Marcia A. Chidester is a freelance writer who lives in the Fredericksburg area.
What: "A Cape Breton Christmas" When: Friday, Dec. 18, 8 p.m. Tickets: $46, $38, $23. Youth tickets through grade 12 are half-price when accompanied by an adult. A pre-performance discussion, free to ticket holders, begins 45 minutes prior to the perform-ance on the Center for the Arts' Grand Tier III. |
What: A Rockapella When: Saturday, Dec. 19, Tickets: $42, $34, $21. Tickets are half-price for youths through grade 12 when accompanied by an adult. A pre-performance discussion, free to ticket holders, begins 45 minutes prior to the performance on the center's Grand Tier III. |
| The following music programs are also on George Mason's Center for the Arts holiday calendar:
A Canadian Brass Christmas, Canadian Brass. Saturday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m. Quintet Canadian Brass features classical music, traditional Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs and jazzy renditions of popular seasonal songs. Tickets are $48, $40, $24. Youth tickets through grade 12 are half-price when accompanied by an adult. A Chanticleer Christmas, Chanticleer. Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 p.m.The performance of holiday music by this all-male chorus includes a program that mingles medieval and Renaissance music with American spirituals, 13th-century motets and favorite Christmas carols. Tickets are $48, $40, $24. The Winter Show, George Winston. Friday, Dec. 11, 8 p.m. Winston's distinctive style of "rural folk piano" finds its influence in the music of the great New Orleans R&B pianists and his early years in Montana. In "The Winter Show," Winston makes his Center for the Arts debut For this holiday performance, please bring a canned food item, which will be donated to a local Washington-area food bank. Winston will also donate a portion of the artist's proceeds from his CD sales to the food bank. Tickets for George Winston are $42, $34, $21. George Mason University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Sunday, Dec. 13, 7 p.m. George Mason University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus join forces for an annual holiday concert at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall that features beloved traditional carols, and the always-popular audience sing-along. Tickets are $20 for adults; $15 students and seniors. Discount/discussions: For all of the shows, except the Chanticleer and the orchestra and chorus, youths through grade 12 get half-price admission when accompanied by an adult. To purchase: Tickets for all GMU holiday programs can be charged by phone at 888/945-2468, or visit gmu.edu/cfa. Directions: From Fredericksburg: Take Interstate 95 North to Exit 60B; north on State Route 123 toward Occoquan. Right on Braddock Road. Left at first light onto Roanoke Road. Free parking in Lot K is on the left, across from the Patriot Center. The Center for the Arts is across the pond on Mason Pond Drive. Paid parking is in the Mason Pond parking deck next to the concert hall. |