MISCHA
MACPHERSON
AWARD-WINNING SCOTTISH SINGER
Winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award and MG Alba Scots Trad Music Award for Gaelic Singer of the Year, Mischa Macpherson is ’one of the most exciting and fully rounded talents to emerge from the Scottish scene in many a year’ (Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2). Having grown up immersed in the distinctive culture of the Outer Hebrides, she unearthed her love for music and Gaelic at a very early age, and it is these influences that the singer now presents with clarity and tenderness to audiences around the world.
Mischa has toured across Asia, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the UK and performed to crowds as large as 20,000 (Fairport’s Cropredy Convention). Her music soared to the forefront of the UK’s wider musical audience after live sessions on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 3, and she has since made several TV performances, including with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. In 2023, she was chosen to represent the UK at the G20 Summit in India and sang in the Gaelic language for the invited global politicians in Varanasi, India. Highly regarded as a collaborator, Mischa has also performed and worked alongside internationally acclaimed artists such as Carlos Núñez Muñoz (Galicia); Capercaillie (Scotland); Suraj and Chand Khan (Lahore, Pakistan); The Unusual Suspects of Celtic Colours (Canada); and Martyn Bennett’s GRIT Orchestra.
A move to Helsinki to study at the Sibelius Academy ignited Mischa’s passion for composition and improvisation and it was there she began exploring the setting and reworking of Gaelic and Scots poetry to new melodies. She went on to compose a new suite of Gaelic Songs for the Blas Festival and the Celtic Connections 2019 New Voices series - which saw her pick up a nomination for 'Composer of the Year' at the Scots Trad Music Awards. She has since taken on the role of Music Director for the critically acclaimed ‘Hebridean Treasure’ project, which explores the links between ancient Scotland and India’s relationship with spirituality and the natural world. 2024/25 will see her collaborate with renowned musician and composer, Donald Grant & perform alongside him and a selection of orchestras (including the Aurora Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, and Scottish Ensemble) over the coming months.
“A rare talents that pops up once in a generation.” BBC Radio Scotland
“An artist of deep sensitivity... She fully embraces and understands the traditions she comes from, but adds a fresh, young, vibrant perspective.” BBC Radio 2
“Her voice is soft as rain, swooping as a seabird, rooted in the traditions of the Hebrides. When she stops, the audience rise to their feet in a breaking wave of fierce applause.” The Independent
UPCOMING EVENTS 2024
10
August
Edinburgh International Festival
United Kingdom
Venue: The Hub @ 19:30
Performance celebrating 25 years of the Feis Rois Ceilidh Trail.
HEBRIDEAN TREASURE TOUR:
26
October
Lowender Festival
Cornwall, United Kingdom
26 October: Kresen Kernow @ 14:00 - 15:50
Indigenous Language Song Q&A
26 October: Redruth Wesley Church @ 19:00
Concert - 'Yeth ha Tir / Land and Language'
A concept concert exploring minority language song and its connection to the natural world. Featuring Scottish Gaelic, Cornish & Livonian singers.
27 October: Redruth School @ 10:30 - 12:30 Singing workshop (featuring Gaelic, Cornish & Livonian songs) lead by the performers of Lowender's 'Yeth ha Tir / Land and Language' concert. Open to all.