East Coast fiddle masters will energize the Esplanade

By Chris Brown on November 29, 2018.

cbrown@medicinehatnews.com @MHNBrown

Some people will tell you November is too early for Christmas music. Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy are not two of those people.

The Juno Award-winning East Coast fiddle masters are already five shows deep on their A Celtic Family Christmas tour. The duo is on the road performing with their children until just a few days before Christmas, stopping at the Esplanade on Dec. 3.

The early start means the family gets a little more longevity out of the Christmas season, but the day itself still holds its power.

“When it approaches Christmas everything gets more exciting,” said MacMaster last week.

The show is exciting each time out, no matter how close it is to Dec. 25. MacMaster said it’s very lively and energetic, typical of a Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy show.

Instrumental Christmas melodies will be performed as will “a whole pile of Cape Breton music, fiddle music and Ontario-style music” and each of their unique brands of fiddling, MacMaster said. Having the children involved singing and dancing helps add a little bit of the magical side of Christmas, she said.

For years, said MacMaster, Leahy has been talking about adding an actor to the performance. That time has finally come. MacMaster said William Colgate adds a theatrical component that describes the music, its history and the East Coast culture in a lighthearted, informative and entertaining way.

“He is really going to enhance the show,” MacMaster said.

She said they’ve done a tour like this about half a dozen times before, calling it a wonderful treat. Some of the regular stresses of family life at home are gone but the family remains, she said.

“Even though we’re not home we’re together. Those other things that consume our time are gone and we get to live life and enjoy the family life.”

The true spirit of the season is a big part of that family life, MacMaster added. Making sure the kids know why they’re getting presents is important to MacMaster.

“For our birthday we get all the presents but for the Lord’s birthday he gives presents to all of us, either through St. Nicholas or the sharing of gifts that we do between each other,” she said. “It’s a very generous time of year and certainly for us we like to be generous. It is a time to reflect on what we have and what others might not have and the responsibility we have to share our gifts.”

The Medicine Hat show starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available at tixx.ca, by calling 403-502-8777 or in person at the Esplanade box office or the Medicine Hat Mall customer service desk.

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