Biographical Highlights Material One Page Downloadable Bio
Moira
Cameron
has been singing and performing for as long as she can remember. Legend has it that
she made her debut at the age of three by singing an ancient Scottish ballad on
stage at the Fiddler’s Green Folk Club in Toronto.
Now
living in Canada's north, Moira
is known as one of this country's finest ballad singers.
Moira grew up
immersed in ancient Celtic, English and French ballads and stories. Her
father, Stewart Cameron (a well known
Scottish born folk singer and storyteller) practiced
his repertoire around the house. Many of her first songs
were learned from him.
Moira began singing semi-professionally at various events in Ontario, principally in Sudbury and Toronto. She performed with her father; a mummer’s troupe called “Mums the Word” (from Sudbury); and as a member of the duo “the Swan & the Wild Goose” at the Toronto Storytelling Festival, Mariposa Folk Festival, 1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling, Northern Lights Festival Boreal, Summer Celtic Festival, and various other events. Leaving the well populated music scene of Ontario in 1990, Moira decided to make a new life for herself in Canada's Northern capital of Yellowknife. Within a year, and with the assistance of a Northwest Territories Arts Council Grant, she released her debut album: One Evening As I Rambled.
Over the years, Moira has successfully made a name for herself as a solo performer of ballads and stories. She has contributed to the enormous wealth of Northern talent with several solo and group recordings. She has organized countless performing events such as Yellowknife's annual local International Women's Day Concert, and CBC North Radio's Christmas Ceilidhs, and with her husband and fellow musician, Steve Goff, runs monthly song circles known as House Ceilidhs.
As a performer
of traditional folk material, Moira has considerable talent and
experience. Her numerous performances include
several appearances
on local and national CBC radio programs, the 1994 Royal Visit by the
Queen, and various music & storytelling festivals, clubs and events
across the country, including national storytelling conferences (put on
by Storytellers of Canada) and ballad conferences (put on by the
Canadian Society of Musical Traditions). In the spring of 1998, Moira's outstanding
musical contribution as a performer was formally acknowledged with the
presentation of an Aurora Award (the northern Canadian version of the Junos) for best solo performer in her home community of Yellowknife.
Moira also performs with the Yellowknife folk music band,
Ceilidh
Friends, which had the honour of performing at
EXPO2005 in Japan.
(See
Ceilidh Friends Site link)
Ballads: Moira is among a very few Canadians who's specialty is ballad singing. Her extensive repertoire of ancient ballads come from England, Ireland and Scotland, the United States, and Canada. Her main goal as a performer of traditional ballads (story songs) is to “convert people into ballad singers”. To achieve this, she often presents special non-academic workshops on singing ballads. She collects her material from a variety of sources including her father and other notable balladeers from the British and North American folk revival eras. Her favourite sources are: Frankie Armstrong (Britain), Ewan MacColl (Britain), Louis Killen (Britain), Pete Bellamy (Britain), Hedy West (USA), Margaret MacArthur (USA), John Roberts and Tony Barrand (USA, formerly Britain), Peggy Seeger (USA), Gordon Bok (USA), Anita Best (Canada), Paddy Tutty (Canada), Ian Robb (Canada), Ed McCurdy (Canada), among others. (For more information on these performers, see the Links page.
Storytelling: Telling old tales in a narrative style is an performing art form Moira has inherited, along with the ballad singing. She also likes to include recitations in her performances.
Instrumental versatility: Although Moira enjoys singing acapella, she also accompanies herself with a wide assortment of instruments including: Appalachian dulcimer, auto-harp, hurdy-gurdy, bowed psaltery, thumb-piano, hammereddulcimer, and recorders (of various sizes).
Songwriting: In the last few years, Moira has written a handful of ballads drawn from stories and people of Canada's North. She also has written a few political songs, taking her inspiration from the singing of social activist songwriters like Leon Rosselson, Ian Robb, Peggy Seeger, and Ewan MacColl.
For a one page copy of her bio (in PDF format) please click here. If you want a promo package mailed or emailed to you, please contact Moira via the email address listed below.
ö Moira's Home Page ö Albums ö Photo Gallery ö
ö News & Announcements ö Links ö Special Feature... ö
ö Moira's father - Stewart Cameron ö
To contact Moira, email admin_celtarctic@yk.com or write
Moira Cameron, 4505 Schooldraw Ave, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2K3, Canada
This page has been updated February 28, 2008