There’s a nice announcement coming out of Halifax this morning. The East Coast Music Association has announced a partnership with the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame to “annually honour the legacy of East Coast songwriters.”
A bit surprising that it’s only happening now, especially since an East Coast rapper (Quake Matthews) won the SOCAN Songwriter of the Year award last year. But, as they say, better letter than never.
You can find the news release below.
2017 SOCAN Songwriter of the Year, Quake Matthews
ECMA partners with Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame to annually honour the legacy of East Coast songwriters
The East Coast Music Association is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, beginning at this year’s East Coast Music Awards: Festival & Conference in Halifax.
The two organizations will partner each year to induct a new song written by an East Coast artist into the Hall of Fame, celebrating those who have helped shape the unique sound of East Coast music. This year we are pleased to announce the induction of “Song for the Mira” by Allister MacGillivray, that has made the secluded, picturesque Cape Breton community of Marion Bridge and its Mira River famous the world over.
The induction award will be presented to MacGillivray during the East Coast Music & Industry Awards on Sunday, May 6, at 7:00 p.m. in the Nova Scotia Ballroom of the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel. It will also be performed by legendary Cape Breton artist Heather Rankin.
Allister MacGillivray is a Cape Breton Islander (born in Glace Bay) and is a graduate of both Xavier College and St. F.X. University. A songwriter, guitarist, folklorist, author, and record producer, he has served as music director for Celtic television programs out of St. John’s and Halifax. As an accompanist, he has toured internationally with noted traditional musicians such as Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy, John Allan Cameron, and Ryan’s Fancy, and also worked for a short time with Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan.
MacGillivray’s peaceful Celtic ballad “Song For the Mira” was recognized by Billboard magazine as a folk classic and is a favourite song with roots musicians and choirs in Atlantic Canada and far beyond having been translated into Scots Gaelic, Italian, Japanese and several other languages.
“We’re very excited to partner with the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, especially during our 30th Anniversary event. As we celebrate the best of today’s East Coast artists, it’s also appropriate to look back and recognize accomplished songwriters in our region’s history,” says ECMA Executive Director Andy McLean. “Allister MacGillivray’s ‘Song for the Mira’ is a beautiful composition that embodies our East Coast culture, and we’re very proud to be a part of its induction into the Hall of Fame.”
“The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame is partnering this year with our country’s most vibrant music festivals and events to honour the musical heritage of those regions,” says CSHF Executive Director Vanessa Thomas.
“We’re thrilled to induct Allister MacGillivray’s iconic ‘Song for the Mira’ into the Hall of Fame, and to be there to celebrate with him, and our partners at the ECMAs, in the province that inspired him.”
Known also by the title “Out On the Mira,” the song has been performed or recorded especially by Nova Scotians such as Denny Doherty, The Men of the Deeps, and Symphony Nova Scotia; by other Canadian acts, such as Amy Cervini, John McDermott, The Elmer Iseler Singers, and The Canadian Tenors; and by Irish singers Foster & Allen, Mary O’Hara, Daniel O’Donnell, and Celtic Thunder. The song was popularized outside of Canada by Nova Scotian icon Anne Murray, who recorded the song on her gold-selling 1982 album Hottest Night of the Year. With Murray’s support, the tune reached international stardom.
Tickets for the Sunday’s East Coast Music & Industry Awards are $10 and will be available at the door 30 minutes before the event. Festival & Conference Passes and VIP Passes also provide entry, and are available here: http://ecma.com/festival/tickets.
For more information on the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, visit CSHF.ca.
For more information on the East Coast Music Awards: Festival and Conference, visit ECMA.com.
About ECMA
The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is a regional collaboration of people in the music industry of Atlantic Canada that fosters, develops and celebrates East Coast music and its artists locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The ECMA annually produces the ECMAs, one of the top music industry events in Canada, which includes Awards, a Festival, an Industry Conference and the International Export Buyers Program. ECMA and its programs are generously funded by the Government of Canada through the International Business Development Agreement (represented by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and Industry Canada), the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund), the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and MUSICACTION. ECMA recognizes the support of the province of Nova Scotia, the Halifax Regional Municipality, and Platinum Partners The Chronicle Herald, Newcap Radio, and TD Bank Group.
