Edinburgh Tradfest: Rebellious Truth: Mischa Macpherson

Cothromachd Agus Buntanas: Am Beatha Cruthachail Sònraichte Aig Luchd-Ciùil Traidiseanta

Balance And Belonging: The Unique Creative Life Of Traditional Musicians

Our third annual RebelliousTruth lecture-recital in collaboration with Celtic & Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh is by Gaelic singer, composer, researcher and broadcaster Mischa Macpherson. The talk will be a fascinating appraisal of the mental pressures that traditional musicians face, and provide insight into the joys of playing the music you love. The event will also include a short performance from Mischa.

Mischa began researching musicians’ mental health during her time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She conducted a study of over 2,000 artists from around the world on some of the leading contributors to the high statistics of poor mental health within the music industry. She has since worked closely with UK charities, such as Help Musicians UK and Wide Days, to deliver workshops & lead panels on the topic of mental health.

In 2021 she presented an hour-long documentary on BBC Alba - Ceòl is Cràdh - based on her research. The film highlighted some of the unique struggles that musicians face in Scotland. Featuring interviews with some of the folk scene's best-known faces, including Ross Ainslie, Greg Lawson, Laura Wilkie and Corrina Hewat, the documentary went on to win Best Arts Documentary at the Scottish Royal Television Society Awards in 2022.

ABOUT MISCHA MACPHERSON

Winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award and MG Alba Scots Trad Music Award for Gaelic Singer of the Year, Mischa Macpherson is ’one of the most exciting and fully rounded talents to emerge from the Scottish scene in many a year’ (Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2). Having grown up immersed in the distinctive culture of the Outer Hebrides, she unearthed her love for music and Gaelic at a very early age, and it is these influences that she now presents to audiences around the world. She has toured across Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Scandinavia, Switzerland and the UK and performed to crowds as large as 20,000 (Fairport’s Cropredy Convention).
 An in demand collaborator, Mischa has also performed and worked alongside internationally acclaimed artists such as Carlos Núñez Muñoz (Galicia); Capercaillie (Scotland); Suraj and Chand Khan (Lahore, Pakistan); The Unusual Suspects of Celtic Colours (Canada); Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra (Scotland) and Martyn Bennett’s GRIT Orchestra.

A move to Finland to study at the Sibelius Academy ignited Mischa’s passion for composition and improvisation and it was there she began exploring the setting and reworking of Gaelic poetry to new melodies. She went on to compose a new suite of Gaelic Songs ‘Bho Eirigh Gu Laighe Grein’ for the Blas Festival and the Celtic Connections New Voices Series and in 2019 was nominated for Composer of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. She has since taken role as Music Director for the highly acclaimed ‘Hebridean Treasure’ project, exploring the links between ancient Scotland and India’s relationship with spirituality and the natural world through music, dance and narrative.

Rebellious Truth is presented in partnership with Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh. You can attend in person at The Traverse or join us online on the day.

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The Traverse Theatre is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, and has received additional support from the Scottish Government's Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund and Creative Scotland’s Recovery Fund for Cultural Organisations.

If you have access requirements, please contact our Sales and Welcome Team on boxoffice@traverse.co.uk or 0131 228 1404 so we can arrange reserved seating for you and discuss how else we can best support your visit.