Celtic Music School: Celtic Song Class with Karen MacLeod

Feeling the need to sing?  Finally, we're back in person with Karen MacLeod and a Celtic songs class!

The Irish rise to the top of the heap worldwide for their love of storytelling through song! Join songstress Karen MacLeod for a surprisingly fun 90 minutes and learn 2 or 3 traditional Irish songs, one of which will be in Irish. In past workshops, we have learned Cúnla, Her Mantle So Green, Oró Sé Do Bheatha ‘Bhaile, The Famine Song, and The Wren Song.

This workshop is great for anyone, all ages, who enjoys singing: no training is required, and we learn everything by ear. Lyrics and links to the songs will be shared in advance, and we spend some time answering any questions related to music/singing/history as they come up. 

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Karen MacLeod has been playing and singing at traditional music sessions since 2005. She teaches “Irish and Scottish Traditional Song” for Riverside

Celtic College (since 2007) and provides traditional song workshops for McDougall Cottage and private events. She has been invited to teach Irish

Song workshops for the Spring Rain Open Platform Irish Feis in May 2017.

Inspired by the “Carmina Gadelica” (a collection of poems, prayers, and invocations from the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland) Karen formed

the duo “Gaedelica” with flautist Jason Pfeiffer in 2010 and continues performing in the spirit of their original vision. Some of their work together

can be heard on her independently released cd “Charmed”.

Karen has studied Gadhlig language and song with Mary Jane Lamond and Catherine Ann MacPhee through the School of Celtic Studies University of

Toronto, and guitar with Tony McManus. She has also studied jazz harmony and improvisation at Mohawk College and The Music Gallery. She taught

privately for rock and commercial musicians and was the voice instructor for three years at Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius Summer Theatre School.

Karen has enjoyed her affiliation with the Grand Philharmonic Choir and Chamber Singers under Howard Dyck and then Mark Vuorinen since 2008.

Presently, she studies voice with Laura Pudwell of The Toronto Consort and is preparing to sing the Royal Conservatory of Music ARCT exam in

Vocal Performance. She sang in the Toronto Summer Music Festival Chamber Choir Academy in 2015, under the instruction of world-renowned

Early Music conductor and recorder/flute player, Mathias Maute.