Jennifer White
Celtic Harper, Composer, Vocalist and Storyteller
Jennifer White discovered the Celtic Harp while studying Literature at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada). It was there that she became fascinated by the culture and music of the ancient Celts through the dual influences of the "twilight" poetry of Irish poet, W. B. Yeats, and the contemporary-Celtic recordings of Canadian musician Loreena McKennitt.
Jennifer is quickly building an international reputation as an accomplished Celtic harper, composer and vocalist. Her engaging performances hold audiences spell-bound, as she transports listeners from the everyday world, into other worlds of myth and beauty.
Jennifer is a magical addition to any entertainment program. She works out of a long-standing bardic tradition of harping and storytelling, taking listeners on musical journeys into the magical worlds of Celtic myth and legend. As a storyteller, she has been described as a natural, drawing audiences into the worlds she describes with the full force of her enthusiasm for story. She has taken a unique approach to the craft by enriching the storytelling experience with original and evocative musical settings she has composed for Celtic Harp.
Jennifer's early musical influences have given her a background unique to the folk harp community. Surrounded as a youngster by both down east folk and traditional dixieland jazz, she is comfortable improvising on traditional tunes or originating her own material. Her early foray into classical piano and formal theory have also given her the tools to approach her craft with technical prowess and scholarship. More than anything else, however, her music comes from the heart, and it is the emotional power of her performances that draws enthusiastic audience response.
In the autumn of 1998, she released her debut CD, Clarsach (The Celtic Harp), a twelve-track recording featuring this ancient and magical instrument. Nine of the tracks are Jennifer's originals inspired by Celtic music, myth and story. The album is also her debut as a vocalist. Only one week from its release, "Clarsach" was already receiving enthusiastic radio play, and continues to garner positive response from a very broad audience. Her second CD, The Silver Branch, is in the works, for release this year.
In the spring of 1999, Jennifer was approached by the Canadian label, Tandem Music Group Corp. (Vancouver, BC), to contribute to a promising international compilation of Celtic female vocalists from around the world. The twelve track compilation, Celtic Mystique (July 1999), is now available throughout Canada, the US, the UK, Asia and Europe. Celtic Mystique is also available through Tandem's website: www.tandem-music.com and in a somewhat different version as Barrachash--Celtic Jewels through Sattva Music in Europe.
Photography by Robert McMaster
Site Design by Jennifer White ©Knockgrafton Productions 1998-2001
P.O. Box 23132, London, Ontario Canada N6A 5N9 | Phone/Fax: 519-438-3924
www.knockgrafton.com | jenwhite@knockgrafton.com