Name Rona Lightfoot | ||
 | ||
Born April 17, 1936 (age 88) South Uist ( 1936-04-17 ) | ||
Rona Lightfoot agus Dileab Chlann Eardsaidh Raghnaill
Rona Lightfoot is a Scottish piper and singer.
Contents
- Rona Lightfoot agus Dileab Chlann Eardsaidh Raghnaill
- Rona lightfoot sings canntaireach with phil cunningham on accordion
- Life
- Career
- Recordings
- References
Rona lightfoot sings canntaireach with phil cunningham on accordion
Life
She was born on 17 April 1936 on South Uist to a family rich in pipers. After learning initially from her mother and father, she was taught by her uncle Angus Campbell. Teaching was in Canntaireachd, a way of notating pibroch orally.
She then attended secondary school in Fort William, before going to Glasgow to train as a nurse. She met her husband Tony whilst in Glasgow, and they married in October 1960.
Career
Lightfoot had a successful career as solo piper, and is sometimes said to be the first woman to win a major piping competition.
In 1972, she won third place in the jig competition at the Northern Meeting, but was unable to compete in the march competition due to her dress.
She became the first woman to compete in the Bratach Gorm after applying pressure to the Scottish Piping Society of London, quoting the Sex Discrimination Act. She was only allowed to compete once.
Lightfoot is regarded as one of the best pipers to never have won a Gold Medal.
She later became the President of the Scottish Piping Society of London, the first woman to do so. Since retiring from competitive piping, she has judged and taught, and in 2010 she won the Balvenie Medal for services to piping.
Recordings
In 2004 she recorded Eadarainn, which involved both singing and piping.