Bio
"Her playing is light and airy, but also as mysterious and reverent as the past from which much of it is drawn. She complements her distinctive harp playing with a near angelic voice"
-Michael Henningsen, Albuquerque Weekly Alibi
Biography
Biography
"I'm enjoying (Oona's) music on late night drives,
it's soothing."
- Juno
award-winning producer Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan)
"I loved hearing
you sing. You have a wonderful voice, and a gentle manner and I liked
the songs very much… You have a new fan in me."-
Judy Collins
The music of singer songwriter Oona McOuat is ancient, evocative and earthy. An alchemist of song, Oona moves listeners with music that feels timeless yet passionately explores the issues of our day. Her Celtic harp, hauntingly beautiful voice, and magical storytelling are the ingredients of a fairy tale. But she doesn't stop there. Like real life, her music is variable and changing. An occasional traditional melody appears with eclectic instrumentation. Evocative lyrics and soaring harp merge to create a sound that is contemporary and unique. The finished product is soulful, moving and transcendent. With her warm stage presence and special sparkle, Oona transforms an ordinary performance into an extraordinary event.
Oona's early life was steeped in music. As she prepared for her Grade
10 piano exam with the Royal Toronto Conservatory of Music, she was encouraged
to pursue a career as a concert pianist. But a poetic streak inspired
her to move beyond those boundaries and create her own songs.
Compelled to understand the world and her place in it, she received a
degree in Communications from the University of Ottawa and traveled as
a freelance journalist to Nicaragua, a country in the throes of revolution,
becoming for a time the "Voice of Nicaragua".. Upon returning,
she lived with a First Nations elder who kindled a connection to the Earth
and its creatures, and introduced her to the Celtic harp.
Songwriting re-emerged
through a series of dreams. "Reconnecting with my muse was like awakening
from a long winter's sleep," remembers Oona.
And so began an intense
period of creative development, which included voice training enhanced
by studies in authentic movement, clowning and Butoh. She began to explore
world music.
In 1991, she was the featured female vocalist on Celso Machado's Juno-nominated
album TAIRA, singing in Portuguese and Yamomami. Then she followed
the ancestral call and traveled to Scotland to discover her roots.
Since 1992, winters have been spent on the Big Island of Hawaii. Swimming
and singing with wild dolphins and whales has allowed her to explore sound
to new depths. She has developed a voice program based on singing from
the inside out and has discovered that she is a gifted teacher and sound
healer.
Oona has recorded two EP's Yearning and Only This Moment and performs at arts centers, festivals, coffee houses and concert halls. In August 1998, she warmed the hearts of Nova Scotians, sharing the stage with Bruce Cockburn, Jann Arden and The Rankins. Since then she has toured New Mexico, Ontario, Hawaii, Europe and the Pacific Northwest touching audiences with her magic.
In December 2000 and 2001 she was a featured artist on the NPR radio special "Do You Hear What I Hear? A Holiday Folk Tour", aired on over 100 stations across the US and hosted by folk icon Judy Collins. Recently, she has delighted audiences young and old with The Fairy Harp, an original story set to musicand written her first novel, The Rememberer.
"Today
I listened to your CD "Yearning" and (it)…reminded me that
there is beauty in the world."-
Ron
Clark, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Halifax
International Buskers Festival, Halifax, Nova Scotia - August
1998
Fish Aid Festival, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia - August
1998
Islands Festival, Duncan, British Columbia - July
1999
Volcano Art Center, Volcano National Park, Hawaii - November
1999
Elora Festival, Elora, Ontario - August 2000
Loch Lomond Festival, Scotland - July 2001
Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Edinburgh, Scotland - August
2001
Portpatrick Festival, Portpatrick, Scotland - September
2001
Kispiox Festival, New Hazelton, British Columbia - July
2002
Pacific Rim Summer Festival, Tofino, British Columbia - August
2002
Alex Goolden Hall, Victoria, BC with Ferron, Tony Childs &
Jamie Sieber - November 2006
Diversity Festival Texada Island, British Columbia - July
2007
Renewal Tour, Hawaii - January 2008
Strange Ritual, Karen Melady: background vocals on Where Did the Moon Go, 1990
TAIRA, Celso Machado: featured female vocalist, 1991
Live your dream, single written and performed by Oona McOuat released on compilation album NA KAMALI'I O', 1997
Yearning, Oona McOuat: 1998
Only This Moment, Oona McOuat & Corbin Keep: 1999
Soul Weaver, David Eastoe: lead vocals on Golden Souls, 2001
Bright Beckoning, Mysha, celtic harp, 2004
The Path of Souls, Independent feature film written & directed by Amy Hoff, USA 2007
Oona,
the wee ones & Scot Ansgeulaiche
"Oona McOuat, harp player, is a genuine songbird / diva. When she sings one is moved to close their eyes and contemplate beauty, and, at the same time, attend to her powerful message of Earth Magic and Healing."
-Richard Diamond, Kauai Oversoul
"When Oona plays the harp …
your world goes from black and white to color … (and) when her nightingale
voice floats its sensual magic …the world falls away, far, far away."
-Dennis Gregory, Puna Press
"McOuat has the ability to deeply
touch her audience and lift them to another place and time…Her music
reminds us of the joyful contradictions involved in being human."
-Comox Valley Record
"She conjures up images of crumbling
castles and misty moors."
-Hawaii Tribune Herald
"Music to lift your soul"
-Volcano Gazette
"Enjoyed your CD."
-George Winston
"I wish you could have heard
yourself singing at the Filberg Festival. Your beautiful voice just floated
over the crowds and sounded ethereal."
-Rosalind Innes, Comox, BC
"Oona has a unique charisma,
a fairy like lightness."
-Earth Folk
"Mysterious and reverent"
"A near angelic voice"
-Michael Henningsen, Albuquerque Weekly Alibi
"Pure, fluid vocals" "Her
lyrics are deeply personal and poetic " "Able to draw out unexpected
depths of feeling"
-Mayne Island Mayneliner
"Your voice transports me into
the "realm of gentleness", one feels intrinsic kindness and
caring."
-Jerzy Zagroba, Victoria, BC