Harp, Oh Canada

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composer . singer . harp player . Officer of the Order of Canada

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photo by Richard Haughton

Loreena McKennitt is well known as a composer and singer. In a recording career spanning more than three decades, Ms. McKennitt’s ‘eclectic Celtic’ music has received critical acclaim world-wide, and gold, platinum and multi-platinum sales awards in 15 countries across four continents. To date, she has sold over 16 million albums in more than 40 countries, with a catalogue that includes eight studio recordings, three seasonal recordings, seven live recordings, one field recording, four compilations, a live in-concert DVD and two DVD documentaries. She’s won two Junos, Canada’s premiere music award, garnered two GRAMMY® nominations, and has performed for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Majesty King Charles III. McKennitt was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2023, and into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2025.

Less well known is the fact that Ms. McKennitt is a highly successful businesswoman who has created an independent record label with celebrated international success.

Born in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, she moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1981, where she initially worked with Canada’s renowned Stratford Festival. In 1985 she established her own record label, Quinlan Road, a move which has made her a rarity in the music industry.

In the early years, Ms. McKennitt ran the operation from her kitchen table, selling her recordings by mail order and producing her own concert tours. Today, she leads her own company with responsibilities that include everything from creating strategic business plans to overseeing marketing and promotion.

Ms. McKennitt’s business acumen is also applied to the charitable foundations she established. The Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety, founded in 1998, has raised more than $4 million in support of water safety education, as well as search, rescue and recovery operations. In 2000, Ms. McKennitt purchased a recently-closed public school in Stratford and transformed it into the Falstaff Family Centre. Responding to concerns identified by the local community, the Centre focuses on the needs of families and children in Perth County, Ontario, which is where she resides. Through the Centre she initiated The Stolen Child Project, devoted to the challenges facing youth and families in the 21st century.

Ms. McKennitt is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba. In 2002 and 2012 she was the recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals and in 2013 she was appointed to the rank of Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters by the Republic of France. In 2023 she was awarded the Joseph-Elzéar Bernier Medal by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

From 2006 to 2013 McKennitt held the position of honorary colonel of the 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and upon completion of the appointment was awarded her first RCAF Commander’s Commendation in recognition of outstanding professionalism and dedication. In September 2014, McKennitt was appointed as the Honorary Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force. In December 2019 she was presented with the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD), representing 12 years of service, and later was awarded a second RCAF Commander’s Commendation. McKennitt’s term as honorary colonel finished in June 2024.

She also holds honourary degrees from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg), Sir Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo), Queen’s University (Kingston) and George Brown College (Toronto).

McKennitt Bio – Music & Civic 2025 V2 – DF22 May 23-2025 – MMSC

Loreena McKennitt Albums & Live Recordings:

  • Elemental (1985)
  • To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1987)
  • Parallel Dreams (1989)
  • The Visit (1991)
  • The Mask and Mirror (1994)
  • The Book of Secrets (1997)
  • Live in Paris and Toronto (1999)
  • And Ancient Muse (2006)
  • A Midwinter Night’s Dream (2008)
  • A Mediterranean Odyssey (2009)
  • The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2010)
  • Troubadours on the Rhine (2011)
  • The Journey So Far – The Best Of (2014)
  • Lost Souls (2018)
  • Live at The Royal Albert Hall (2019)
  • Under a Winter’s Moon (2022)
  • Live in Madrid (2024)
  • The Mask and Mirror Live (2024)
  • The Road Back Home (2024)
  • Nights from the Alhambra (live/DVD)
  • A Moveable Musical Feast (DVD)
  • No Journey’s End (DVD)