What’s The Good of Gold?

FIONA MACKENZIE reflects on the aftermath of a Gold Medal win at the Western Isles Mod.

SO WHAT’S IT all about, then? This Mod business? Gold Medal? What’s that, and what does it mean? It’s only a few short weeks since the National Mod was held in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in October, but for me, its been a total whirlwind of activity – and the coming year is going to be no different.

I have been competing at the Mod now for a few years, and there is no doubt that it is a great learning experience, both in terms of professional and personal development. When I first started singing Gaelic in 1994, I had no aspirations to have a singing career, but I did want to learn the language and learn it well.

I wanted to find out what it was that stirred something very deep in me – I’m an east coaster by birth so it couldn’t come from my ancestors, although it is possible that my paternal grandfather’s family came from Skye.

I had my first contact with a Mod at the National Mod in Dunoon in 1995 (where, in fact, the Mod will be returning in 2006). At that time I sang with Dingwall Gaelic Choir and had a great time, meeting all the other choirs and enjoying the après competition stuff.

Whether choral singing is your cup of tea or not, it is very exciting participating in the competitions – even better when you win. Singing in a choir is an excellent way of absorbing the language and learning the various sounds which are an intrinsic part of the language. The Gaelic tutor ensures that the resulting sounds are correct and are drummed into singers.

This certainly helped me in the development of my own solo singing. No doubt about that. In 1996, I entered the Silver Pendant in Blairgowrie, the premier solo series for Gaelic learners, and much to my surprise and delight, won.

Being a Gold Medallist can bring many things – it brings what you want it to bring.

To compete in these competitions, I had to complete a test in Gaelic up to a basic conversational level and converse with two testers. To help me achieve this level, I enrolled in a 2 year immersion course at Inverness College, where I was not allowed to speak a word of English, right from day one. All credit to tutor Iain MacIlleChiar for being so hard on us!

After the Mod, I realised that singing was going to mean far more to me than being just a mere hobby and so the ‘bug’ took hold. People will say ‘You don’t need a Medal to be a recognised singer’ but for me, I knew that working towards the fluent premier competitions at the Mod would help give me the experience I would need if I was to achieve a career in Gaelic music.

I do not have the advantage of a Gaelic background – with no Gaelic in the family at that time (now, my 2 sons, aged 13 & 16 are both fluent speakers and Katie 19, is learning at The RSAMD where she is a student of Gaelic song and clàrsach), nothing would come easy, and would mean sacrifice both financially and on the home front – the kids got used to holidays being spent in the Islands and going from cèilidh to concert to Gaelic gatherings of all sorts.

So where did this all get me? In 2003, I achieved the job of a lifetime by becoming the Màiri Mhòr Gaelic Song Fellow for Highland Council, teaching song and researching song for people all over the world. This has become more like a vocation than a job to me now, and I know just how lucky I am to be doing a job I love so much.

Then, in October, I achieved one of my goals when I won the prized An Comunn Gaidhealach Gold Medal for solo singing in Stornoway ( an added bonus, for a learner!). Nobody can say I won it without doing my ‘apprenticeship’, that’s for sure!

So what does it mean for me now? Is it not really just a bit of bling to hang round my neck? Why should it make any difference to my singing now? Being a Gold Medallist can bring many things – it brings what you want it to bring.

Some Medallists are happy to more or less retire from singing once they have won it but to me, what is the point of that? I have worked hard for it and intend to make the most of it. It may be a gold necklace, but it also opens doors for you, if you want it to.

Not all well known Gaelic singers today are Medallists, and conversely not all Medallists are well known singers. However, most of the well known and loved singers today have been immersed in – or at least brought up hearing the language – since their early childhood.

I’m not saying that they have not had to work at their singing, but just that it does help if Granny or Uncle Seumas can help with original material, for example! Co dhiubh, my life now centres around the Gaelic culture even the dogs have Gaelic names!

Singing is at the centre of that culture. Winning the Gold Medal has so far brought me invites to sing in Ireland and USA ( twice) next year – part of the prize is to sing in Washington and other parts of Pennsylvania in September, and before that I will be teaching song at the Grandfather Mountain Week of song and language and the Highland Games in North Carolina, in July.

Other potential trips include Canada and other parts of the States. I begin recording a CD of Ross-shire Songs, for the Fellowship, in February 2006, to be produced by Andy Thorburn. In April, I will be accompanying the youth vocal harmony group ‘Fionnar’ to the Pan Celtic Festival in Letterkenny in Donegal, and no doubt doing a bit of singing myself.

This year, the group represented Scotland at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales – a fantastic experience. I am part of the Highland 2007 team and am working on the projects which involve Gaelic – a very exciting time lies ahead of us in the next two years.

So both my professional and personal lives are going to be very busy over the next year – yes, I would have achieved some of these things without winning the Gold Medal, but without it some of these opportunities would not be presenting themselves to me. I would like to be remembered as a Gold Medallist who actually used her medal for the benefit of Song and the Culture – Suas Leis a Ghàidhlig!

Fionnar and Fiona MacKenzie are performing at St Michaels Church, Abbans Street, Inverness, on 17 December 2005 at 7.30pm.

© Fiona MacKenzie, 2005