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Noted fiddlers bring kids to Surrey stage for ‘A Celtic Family Christmas’ concert

Bell theatre date for Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy as they reunite for 23-city tour of Canada
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East Coast fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy will bring their “A Celtic Family Christmas” concert tour to Surrey’s Bell Performing Arts Centre on Monday, Nov. 26. (submitted photo)

A pair of JUNO Award winners are fiddling their way across the country with another Christmas-themed concert tour this month and next, with a Surrey stop on the calendar.

Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy will bring their “A Celtic Family Christmas” production to Bell Performing Arts Centre on Monday, Nov. 26, as part of a 23-date tour of Canada.

The show, announced last spring, finds the duo playing seasonal favourites with their children.

“Christmas is where this whole concept started, and we are excited to be travelling as a family,” noted Leahy in a press release.

“It’s a perfect time to travel with the children and bring light and happiness to families and fans across the country.”

Surrey’s Bell is the fourth stop on the tour, which starts Nov. 23 in Victoria and heads east before ending in Peterborough on Dec. 22.

At last check, the Surrey date has just a couple dozen tickets remaining for sale, at ticketmaster.ca.

The tour promises a “theatrical element that will thrillingly traverse time and continents while contextualizing the music and its players,” with a Cape Breton Christmas twist.

“This tour is going to have an energy that goes beyond the duration of the show,” MacMaster says in a post on the website natalieanddonnell.com. “I want it to stay with our fans throughout the holidays, and beyond.”

MacMaster, an Order of Canada recipient, has released 11 albums, won two JUNO Awards, 11 East Coast Music Awards, has been nominated for a Grammy Award and collaborated with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Jesse Cook, Alison Krauss and others.

Her pal Leahy is a three-time JUNO Award-winner and is considered one of the best Celtic fiddlers in the world.

In 2016, the duo released A Celtic Family Christmas, an album that featured “Angels We Have Heard On High,” ” White Christmas,” “Hark The Herald Angels Sing,” “Ding Dong Merrily On High,” “Silent Night” and other songs.

“This record is a first for us,” the pair stated at the time. “I have never recorded a Christmas record before and Donnell was 14 the last time he recorded Christmas with The Leahy Family. So for years it has been a hope, but now it is a reality.”

The 11-track CD can be purchased for $15 at natalieanddonnell.com, along with other albums MacMaster and Leahy have recorded.



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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