Fiona Gillespie | Photo: Sasha Greenhalgh Photography

Fiona Gillespie

Fiona Gillespie is a folk and Classically-trained singer, songwriter, composer, and music educator living in Philadelphia. Raised in a family of traditional Celtic musicians Fiona grew up step dancing, singing ballads, and playing the Irish whistle, on which she competed nationally and internationally until 2006. She holds degrees in voice performance from Westminster Choir College (BM) and the University of North Texas (MM). Fiona's debut, full-length compositional recording, Tam Lin, with collaborator Elliot Cole releases commercially in 2021, with a premier with Five Boroughs Music Festival in New York. Her album of Scottish folk songs arranged by composers of the Viennese School, "Wisps in the Dell", with members of Baroque band ACRONYM, (under the name Makaris), released in 2019. Recent engagements include The Queen's Baroque Ensemble Paris, Mountainside Baroque, The Academy of Sacred Drama, Screen Door Festival, Labyrinth Baroque Ensemble, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Fire and Grace, ALKEMIE, and The Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra. She sings as a professional chorister with Skylark Ensemble, Apollo's Fire, Kinnara Ensemble, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, and St. Tikhon's Choir. Fiona is a co-founder and manager of the band The Chivalrous Crickets, which explores the crossover between English, Celtic, and Old Time American folk music with music of the Renaissance and Baroque, as well as writing many original songs and tunes. The group, comprised of both folk and early music specialists, performs around the United States, and recently made their (virtual) European debut with the Derby Folk Festival in the UK. Fiona also performs in Baroque-Folk crossover duo, Disordering the Attic, with Paul Holmes Morton in recitals, house shows, and virtual events. Fiona teaches voice at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, where she also leads opera workshop and music directs main stage productions (recent: Gilbert & Sullivan's Trial by Jury, 2019).