2 Articles

Monday 20th January 2003

MORDEN TO HONOUR MCKENNITT

Morden will welcome home singer-songwriter Loreena McKennitt for a celebration in her honour this spring.

A recognition night to honour McKennitt, who has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide, is planned for April 26 in her hometown.

Details of the event, put on by Morden Chamber of Commerce, are still being ironed out.

The idea for a homecoming tribute for the world-renown musician, who now lives in Stratford, Ont., gained momentum after she was selected to perform for the Queen during her Golden Jubilee tour to Winnipeg in October.

A homecoming tribute
By Lorne Stelmach

Morden will welcome home Loreena McKennitt this spring for a day in her honour.
A special recognition night is planned for April 26 as a focal point for a celebration to pay tribute to the most famous talent to have arisen from Morden.
The date was confirmed as being suitable recently for both McKennitt and the Morden Recreation Centre, Morden Chamber of Commerce directors were told at their January 14 meeting.
Details for the celebration are still being ironed out, although discussions have included erecting a sign in recognition of McKennitt.
Other ideas considered for the occasion include naming something - a street or park, for example - after McKennitt.
The idea of some form of special recognition for McKennitt gained momentum after the world-renowned musician was selected to perform for Queen Elizabeth during her Golden Jubilee tour visit to Winnipeg.

A brief bio
Born and raised in Morden, McKennitt won the DuMaurier Search For Talent in 1978.
McKennitt now calls Stratford, Ontario home. In Stratford, she was in a number of its acclaimed Shakespeare productions as an actor, singer and composer including The Tempest (1982), The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (1984), then as a composer for The Merchant Of Venice in 2001.
She operates her own music label, Quinlan Road, which has a distribution agreement with Warner Music. She has built a musical career her way, remaining fiercely independent and retaining control of all aspects of her career from producing to marketing and performing the music.
Her music - which she has called “eclectic Celtic” - has obtained global success with its pan-Celtic soundscapes that reflect both the roots of Gaelic/ Celtic music as well as its origins in European and other cultures.
She has been awarded two Canadian Juno music awards as well as a Billboard International Achievement Award in 1997. Her recordings have received gold, platinum and multi-platinum sales status in almost a dozen countries.
She achieved broader mainstream success with her last studio recording The Book of Secrets. A remix of the single Mummer’s Dance found crossover success in four different music chart categories.
McKennitt has sold nearly 10 million records worldwide with seven full length CDs to her credit: Elemental in 1985, To Drive The Cold Winter Away in 1987, Parallel Dreams in 1989, The Visit in 1991, The Mask And The Mirror in 1994, The Book Of Secrets in 1997 and the two CD Live In Paris And Toronto in 1999.