Lindsay Mac
Encyclopedia
Lindsay Mac is a singer/songwriter/cellist raised in Iowa City, Iowa
and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
, and her interest in becoming a classical cellist led her to study abroad at the Royal College of Music
in London. She briefly left Dartmouth after being accepted to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
. While there, she had concluded that classical music was not her calling.
Returning to receive her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth, and living in a wood-heated New Hampshire cabin, Mac began adapting her cello technique. Though she had decided that her dream was to be a singer/songwriter, she remained committed to the cello as her instrument. “I just wanted to take my love for the cello and put it into a context in which I felt I was really in touch with my muse.”
Mac enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
in Boston but was anxious to begin performing. She soon hit the road playing clubs and folk festivals. She performs as a solo act or with a backing band and has sat in with other artists; including Catie Curtis
and Michelle Shocked
. She has also opened for Curtis, as well as k.d. lang
, Glen Phillips
, Vance Gilbert
, and Girlyman
.
technique, but largely employs a more percussive approach. The strings are alternately strummed like a guitar or slapped like a bass.
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
Biography
Mac began playing the cello at the age of nine. She attended Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, and her interest in becoming a classical cellist led her to study abroad at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London. She briefly left Dartmouth after being accepted to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, formerly the California Conservatory of Music, founded in 1917, is a music school, with an enrollment of about 400 students. It was launched by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgehead in the remodeled home of Lillian's parents on Sacramento Street. It was called the...
. While there, she had concluded that classical music was not her calling.
Returning to receive her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth, and living in a wood-heated New Hampshire cabin, Mac began adapting her cello technique. Though she had decided that her dream was to be a singer/songwriter, she remained committed to the cello as her instrument. “I just wanted to take my love for the cello and put it into a context in which I felt I was really in touch with my muse.”
Mac enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston but was anxious to begin performing. She soon hit the road playing clubs and folk festivals. She performs as a solo act or with a backing band and has sat in with other artists; including Catie Curtis
Catie Curtis
Catie Curtis is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has been categorized in several genres, including pop, rock, alternative country, indie and folk. She has recorded 11 CDs. The most recent, Stretch Limousine On Fire, will be released in August 2011 on Compass Records.-Early life:Catie...
and Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
. She has also opened for Curtis, as well as k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Glen Phillips
Glen Phillips
Glen Phillips is a songwriter, lyricist, singer and guitarist. He is best known as the singer and songwriter of 1990s alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket.-Personal life:...
, Vance Gilbert
Vance Gilbert
Vance Gilbert is an American folk singer/songwriter. He started out as a jazz singer, then switched to folk music, performing on the open mike circuit in Boston. His career took off when he toured with Shawn Colvin. He has recorded eight albums, including Side of the Road, a duo album with friend...
, and Girlyman
Girlyman
Girlyman is an American folk-rock band formerly based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, now based in Atlanta, Georgia.Their self-released debut album, Remember Who I Am, sold 5,000 copies before it was re-released by Daemon Records, the independent record label run by Amy Ray of the Indigo...
.
Cello technique
In order to stand while singing on stage, Mac harnesses the cello with a shoulder strap and does not use a bow. She plucks the strings in a manner similar to the traditional pizzicatoPizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
technique, but largely employs a more percussive approach. The strings are alternately strummed like a guitar or slapped like a bass.
Discography
Mac's first album, Small Revolution, was released in 2005 and re-released by Taiga Records in 2007.- Small Revolution (2005 Red Cello Records) (2007 Taiga Records)
- Stop Thinking (2008 Taiga Records)