Natalie MacMaster never planned to write a book. A world-renowned Nova Scotia fiddler who grew up in a family of musicians, she picked up her first fiddle at nine and knew she’d play it for the rest of her life. But seven years ago, amid a world crowded with negative headlines, a phone call with her mother struck a chord–one that inspired her to tell her story through words.
“I remember phoning my mom, and she lives in Cape Breton–a sweet little, quaint place in the world–and she was telling me about all this bad news at home,” MacMaster, a two-time Juno Award-winner, Grammy nominee, and recipient of the Order of Canada, told The Epoch Times in an interview.
“I just got off the phone thinking, what kind of world do my kids have to live in?”
Feeling discouraged, she says she began to think about the beauty threaded through her own life–her children’s sweetness, her husband’s love for his role as a father, the love she’d been given. Then it struck her: “Oh my gosh, I have my own love story!”
It was then that MacMaster set out to write her memoir, titled, “I Have a Love Story,” which was published earlier this year. The book traces her journey from a child on Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island to a professional musician on some of the world’s most renowned stages.
It also shares personal stories, including how she met her husband, fellow fiddler Donnell Leahy; the joys and challenges of raising seven children; the ways her faith has guided and shaped her life; and her sense of duty to share and carry forward Nova Scotia’s musical tradition.
“Maybe the world needs a story about just simple things, sweet love, the effects of it on a person, how it transcends the generations, just to kind of fuel some love in the world,” she said.
“The point of it all is just to say, ‘Hey everybody, don’t forget that simple and basic love can fuel and change everything.’”
The book also includes family recipes, exclusive photographs and musical scores of some of her compositions.
Nova Scotia fiddler Natalie MacMaster with her husband, fellow fiddler Donnell Leahy, in an undated photo. Supplied
While the writing process itself spanned three years, MacMaster says the project took longer than expected, not only because she had to balance her roles as an active musician, wife, and mother, but also because writing, like music, requires constant refinement.
“That’s the way it is with writing music–the strength of a piece is often in the rewriting of the piece,” she said.
“It’s almost like a sculpture; you chisel away, you keep the bits that are good and are working, and you remove the bits that aren’t.”
A Balancing Act: Homeschooling and Family Tours
MacMaster says that while balancing her many life roles was not easy, she wouldn’t have done it any other way.“I wanted to be a mother–I wasn’t going to give that up,” she said, adding that she also wanted to continue playing music.
“I felt that’s part of the reason why I’m here on Earth: to play fiddle and play music for people,” she said.
At age 33, MacMaster had her first child, Mary Frances. To continue her music career, which often required travelling for tours, the family decided to homeschool. They used the same approach with subsequent children, who, showing musical talent, naturally joined the family performances, MacMaster said.
But as the family grew, homeschooling became more challenging. To continue playing music, MacMaster split the homeschooling duties with a woman who has now been assisting with their children’s education for 12 years. This arrangement has allowed the family to keep making music together, while nurturing their children’s musical talents.
Nova Scotia fiddler Natalie MacMaster with her husband and seven children in an undated photo. Supplied
“The other day, my husband said to me, ‘Can you imagine if our kids didn’t play music? Imagine how different our life would look,'” MacMaster said.
She says that if that had been the case, they likely would have given up their musical pursuits, since leaving some of their children at home while going on tour was out of the question. “Our number one goal is to raise good kids,” she said.
Now that her children are older–the oldest is 19 and youngest 7–education arrangements have changed, with some going to school part-time and others full-time.
Those in school balance their studies so they can join family tours, which are typically scheduled during school breaks. They perform together as a family in at least 20 shows each year, she said.
“There’s the odd Friday or Monday missed, but generally speaking, they manage somehow to try and get as much as they can done before they leave,” she said.
Nova Scotia fiddler Natalie MacMaster with her family on stage in an undated photo. Supplied
When asked if she ever worried that one of her children might not take to music, MacMaster said she had those fears with her second child, Michael, who seemed slower to develop his skills than his older sister, but later turned out to be one of the most musical of them all.
“I’ve gotten much, much, better,” she said. “I don’t have any of those concerns anymore–I think I’ve just let go.”
Mary Frances is now pursuing a career in music, and Michael also hopes to devote himself to music, though he may explore other interests as well, MacMaster said. One of their younger daughters enjoys singing, and a younger son plays the drums, along with several other instruments. As for the youngest children, she said, it remains to be seen which paths they choose.
Strength in Faith
To fulfill her role as a mother and a wife, MacMaster says she finds strength in her Catholic faith, which she shares with her family.She says that disclosing she is Catholic was one of the more difficult parts of writing her book, citing today’s tendency among some people to view religion negatively or to label those who express their faith.
“I was a little shy to say that,” she said. “But for me, my experience with my faith, [it has] only taught me good things–things that I continue to want to harvest and nurture in my heart.”
She writes that faith carried her through one of her most uncertain moments: learning that her sixth child, Sadie, had Down syndrome. The news brought “sorrow to our hearts,” she says, but she quickly shifted her mindset.
“You know this baby is a gift. You know the Lord Himself crafted her every detail. He chose you and Donnell to be her parents,” she writes in the book, recalling her own thoughts. “I really believed we were blessed. Now I really know we are blessed.”
Her husband shared a similar understanding, she says. “He told me days later he had a deep sense that God had intended the whole experience just for him so he would quickly learn to better appreciate his new daughter,” MacMaster wrote.
She concludes that section of the book by describing how Sadie has changed their lives.
“Eleven years have passed by quickly. I could never impart how special Sadie is to all of us,” she writes. “Sadie elevated my love so organically and effortlessly, provoking a growth spurt of maturity in me that has benefited our whole family.”
Carrying on Tradition
As a bearer of the Cape Breton fiddling tradition, one of the most authentic and well-preserved branches of Celtic music, MacMaster says she hopes her listeners can experience the same joy she feels when hearing great music.“I feel unburdened, released; I experience the joy of living,” she said. “That’s what I love that I receive from music, and so that’s what I would hope I can contribute as well.”
Nova Scotia fiddler Natalie MacMaster in an undated photo. Supplied
Regarding those who read her book, she says she hopes to inspire them to “really connect with the beautiful love that is in their lives” and to pass that on to their children, “in the hopes that these awful headlines and the evil that has seeped so greatly into the world, [can dissipate] with the generations,” she said.
