String Sisters Live!
First Concert
In the year 2000, Catriona Macdonald saw one of her dreams become reality when at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival on 21st of Jan. The dream was to assemble some of the world’s leading female fiddlers – sweeping the audience off their feet. This was their first outing together as the String Sisters! Colin Hynd of Celtic Connections grabbed the chance to premiere the event at his festival and the experience was nothing short of earth shattering for all who participated. The Glasgow concert was a great success and the project was rebooked for the following year.
Different Musical Backgrounds
The musical traditions in question are the ones belonging to Ireland/America, Shetland/Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia. Annbjørg Lien belongs to the latter, while the other sisters, in addition to Catriona MacDonald from Shetland, include Liz Carroll and Liz Knowles from America, Mairead ni Mhaonaigh (from the acclaimed Irish folk-band Altan) and Emma Härdelin from Sweden. Härdelin has taken the place of original member Natalie MacMaster from Canada.
Norway Tour
During the winter of 2005, the sisters went on tour in Norway, in cooperation with the Norwegian National Concerts, and Grappa Music Group. The tour was Annbjørg Lien’s initiative. In a recent intevju with Ballade.no, Lien says:
– The Norwegian tour and the live recordings mark the start of a whole new level of activity for the Sisters. The plan now is to tour each of our home countries and release the record in relation to each tour.
