Troubador Loreena McKennitt brings passion for the Celtic sound to Segerstrom
In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Loreena McKennitt has performed at Carnegie Hall, sung for Queen Elizabeth II and founded her own record label.
But long before McKennitt, 59, would become a Grammy Award nominee, sell more than 14 million albums worldwide and win two Juno Awards, which are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands, she journeyed to the west coast of Ireland, visiting counties Clare, Donegal and Limerick and falling in love with Celtic music.
“I was immediately smitten by it,” McKennitt said of the musical genre. “There is something in music that is so infectious. I believe that quality has life.”
To celebrate Celtic music, the Canadian harpist and pianist will join two longtime musical collaborators, guitarist Brian Hughes and cellist Caroline Lavelle, also both Grammy nominated, in a series of U.S. shows, including a concert Sunday at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
McKennitt will play 20 shows over one month in cities including Portland, Santa Barbara and Dallas, wrapping up the tour March 26 in Seattle.
The set list will feature a majority of songs from “Troubadours on the Rhine,” the 2012 album by the three performers, along with music and stories inspired by McKennitt’s travels and research in pursuit of the history of the Celts — from visiting Morocco and northern China to seeing central Turkey and Ireland.
Behind each song is a story about a journey, McKennitt said, and a few other musical selections weave in poems by Yeats, Shakespeare and Tennyson.
A 20-minute section during the concert will reference Irish history from the famine in the 1840s to today.
In 1982, McKennitt did research on Irish immigrants who fled to Canada during the famine. And when she was preparing for her tour, she wanted to draw material from that particular piece of Irish history to show its relevance to the Syrian refugee crisis.
“I wanted to learn how much resonance the people from Ireland to Canada had with migrants from the current Syria refugee crisis,” McKennitt said. “In some ways, stories are similar while others are different. I hope the show might allow people to reflect on the matter and see it through the lens of another historical presence.”
McKennitt was born in rural Manitoba, Canada, to a nurse and livestock dealer.
She thought she’d become a veterinarian but always wondered how far her music would take her. She performed the guitar for several years before an informal gathering of family of friends, her early inspirations being the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary and singer Gordon Lightfoot.
“I told myself, ‘If music doesn’t work out, I’ll go into forestry or wildlife conservancy,’” McKennitt said. “But the musical opportunities continued to grow. It was the hand of fate.”
She moved to Stratford, Ontario, in 1981, where she initially worked with Canada’s Stratford Festival. Four years later, McKennitt established a record label, Quinlan Road. From her kitchen table, she’d sell her recordings by mail order and produce her own concert tours. Today, she continues to run her company, including handling promotions.
But she didn’t forget her initial inklings to be of service.
McKennitt raised more than $4 million in support of water safety education as well as rescue and recovery operations for the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety, a charity she helped found in Stratford after a fatal boating accident.
She also purchased a closed public school in Stratford and renovated it, turning it into the Falstaff Family Centre. There, children and families participate in educational activities like parenting workshops and play groups.
McKennitt, who is making her debut at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, said she looks forward to her return in the United States.
“It’s like being in the company of friends,” McKennitt said. “I’m certainly excited to be with a whole group of people and celebrate music.”
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What: Loreena McKennitt Trio
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: Tickets start at $49
Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org
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Kathleen Luppi, kathleen.luppi@latimes.com
Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
