McMaster, Buddy

Buddy McMaster, the second son in a large family, was born in 1924 to a family of immigrants from Nova Scotia in the town of Timmins (Ontario), where his father John Duncan McMaster worked in the mine. In 1929, the MacMaster family returned to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, where Buddy spent most of his life ^[1] .

Both John and Buddy's mother, Sarah Agnes, were amateur musicians. The boy was put to bed, singing jigsaws instead of lullabies, and in early childhood he was playing with two pieces of wood, pretending to play the violin. Buddy played his first jig at 11 years old on his father’s violin . He studied violin mastery, following the game of recognized Cape Breton feeders, who preserved the centuries-old traditions of Celtic folk music. At the age of 15 he first received a paid order for playing dances ^[1] , and from 1949 he constantly played at dances and holidays ^[2] .

MacMaster himself regarded his violin playing as a hobby, and the main source of income since 1943 was the work of a telegrapher and station superintendent of the Canadian National Railway ^[3] . However, his skill was highly appreciated by those around him: in 1953 he was invited to perform at the opening of the Novot-Scottish television channel CJCB TV, and later for several years he played on the CBC television musical series Kaylee, named after the Scottish folk dance . Since 1979, plays performed by McMaster have been included in albums of traditional Celtic music ^[2] .

In the first half of the 1980s, MacMaster traveled to Scotland several times with the Cape Breton Symphony Orchestra (specializing in folk violin music), using these trips to become familiar with the roots of his music. In 1989 and 1991 , at the age of 65 (and only after retiring from the railroad ^[1] ), he released his first solo albums, where the piano part was led by John Morris Rankin, and the guitar part in the second album was by David Makaizek. In 1992 and 2000, SeaBright Productions produced two concert films about his work ^[3] .

Buddy McMaster has been married since 1968 to Marie Beaton, who bore him two children - Allan and Mary. Nephew Buddy and niece also became famous performers of folk melodies ^[1] . Ashley Makaisek was one of Buddy's many students (who taught music in Inverness and on the Scottish Isle of Skye ), and Natalie recorded several CDs with him in the last years of his musical career ^[2] . According to Natalie, she grew up in Buddy's creative manner, elated and rich in nuances, which among young musicians was called “ Buddy MacMaster lift ’s inspiration” ^[1] .

Buddy McMaster died of a heart attack at his home in Judith, Nova Scotia, a few months before his 90th birthday ^[1] .

Buddy McMaster has been honored with several federal and provincial awards in Canada:

• Medal of Canada (1993) ^[2]
• Cavalier of the Order of Canada (2001, as a symbol of the Cape Breton musical tradition and messenger of Canadian music, playing a leading role in the revival of Celtic culture in Canada and abroad) ^[4]
• Cavalier of the Order of Nova Scotia (2003) ^[2]

MacMaster is awarded the title of honorary doctorate by the University of St. Francis Xavier and the University of Cape Breton . In 2006, he was awarded the East Coast Music Association award for his career achievements and in the same year he became the first non-British performer, whose name was included in the lists of the Hall of Fame of traditional Scottish music. In 2014, McMaster became the third Canadian to win the US-based after Stan Rogers and ^{[2] [5]}

Solo Records

Collections

• Shirley Gueller. Buddy MacMaster (Unsolved) . Encyclopedia of Music in Canada (October 1, 2013). The appeal date is February 6, 2015.
• Buddy MacMaster (eng.) On the website AllMusic