Loreena Isobel Irene McKennit is a prominent Canadian singer, recognized as a celebrated singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences.

LOREENA MCKENNITT BIOGRAPHY: AGE, EARLY LIFE, FAMILY, EDUCATION

Loreena McKennitt was born on February 17, 1957 (Loreena McKennitt age: 66) in Morden, Manitoba, Canada. She originates from Irish and Scottish descent. 

McKennitt discovered her passion for music in her hometown, as she grew influenced by the musical traditions of her community.

McKennitt grew up to attend the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, where she studied to become a veterinarian. While in Winnipeg, she stumbled upon folk music. After gracing her audience at the inaugural Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1974 with an inspiring musical performance, McKennitt discovered her passion for Celtic music and went to visit Ireland in order to hear it for herself. As a result of her love for this kind of music, McKennitt even learned to play the Celtic harp and started doing street performances in a variety of places, including St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, to earn herself enough money to record her debut album.

LOREENA MCKENNITT BIOGRAPHY: CAREER

McKennitt went on to release her first album Elemental in 1985, followed by To Drive the Cold Winter Away, Parallel Dreams, and numerous others. All her work is released under her own label, Quinlan Road. McKennitt has gained recognition for her refined and distinct soprano vocals, which are showcased in all of her albums.

In an exclusive interview with uInterview, McKennitt spoke about her 30-year anniversary of her 1991 album The Visit and what the anniversary means to her.

“Well, it’s always a sobering exercise when one looks back in their life, no matter what you do,” McKennitt recalled. “Certainly with the trajectory of my career, it’s been fascinating in some ways. It’s not always comfortable, but let’s say, to see what I was thinking of, what were the things that were on my mind and why, how I expressed those themes in the recording itself. There are things that I probably would like to try to do over again, you know there’s all of that, but I think it is an interesting exercise in terms of measuring where you’ve traveled from and where you are now and going to,” she said. “And so for the most part, it’s been quite gratifying. And I think one of the greatest parts is when we’ve been working on this project, and over the past year we’ve been able to work with people who were in situ with me for The Visit in 1991.”

McKennitt later went on to reveal whether or not the comparisons to Enya drive her “insane.”

“Well, not terribly, no. I mean, in some ways it’s a compliment,” McKennitt said. “I have great respect for Enya and her team’s work and what they’ve accomplished over the years. I mean, they too are kind of trading a bit in that Celtic, that infectious Celtic territory, but I think from my part, I feel like whether I intended it or not or wanted it or not, have ended up walking my own unique musical path. And I think that’s been largely led by my curiosity. Many people probably know already that I never dreamed about being a singer. I always wanted to be a veterinarian and if I hadn’t gone on to be a veterinarian, I would have worked in forestry or wildlife conservation. So, I’ve always had this arms-length distance psychologically with my career. I’ve never had a big appetite or infatuation for fame. I accept that it comes with it, but I feel incredibly grateful to have had some talent that also landed a career path that’s afforded me some success to be able to travel the world, to meet people, to learn about cultures and weave that back into my work. So, it’s been a very, very good loop.”

LOREENA MCKENNITT BIOGRAPHY: PERSONAL LIFE

In 1981, McKennitt relocated to Stratford, Ontario, in order to join the Stratford Festival acting company. She still resides there now.

McKennitt is currently single. She was once engaged to Ronald Rees, who tragically drowned in a devastating boating accident, along with his brother Richard, and close friend, Gregory Cook, on the Georgian Bay.

This loss deeply affected McKennitt, as she immediately took action into her own hands, founding the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Research and Safety that same year. During the time of the tragic incident, McKennitt had been engaged with her work in creating a live album comprised of two performances called Live in Paris and Toronto. The proceeds in which she received as a result of this album were generously donated to the newly created memorial fund, totaling somewhere in the range of $3 million. 

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