About
Teresa Doyle is a vocal explorer with a lifelong passion for pushing the boundaries of her voice. She’s endlessly experimenting with new vocal colours, extended vocal techniques, and vocal textures from other cultures. Her exploration has taken her around the world singing with Kenyan farm women, a Japanese lute player, Tibetan overtone singers, Soca musicians from Tobago, improvisers in New York, South Indian yogis, traditional Gaelic singers from Ireland, and folk musicians from the Yukon Territory to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her repertoire reflects her journey but is always firmly rooted in the Celtic music and stories of her native Prince Edward Island.
Her new project, Song Road, is a folk/celtic/world recording produced by fiddle wizard and multi-instrumentalist, Jaron Freeman-Fox—the protégé of Teresa’s long time producer, the late Oliver Schroer. Teresa is a seasoned performer with years of vocal exploration under her belt. Jaron is a young, exciting, fearless inventor. Together they’ve created a sonic road trip for the musical adventurer.
“Teresa Doyle is deservedly becoming a Canadian Treasure! Get to know this award winning artist well! On her latest CD, Song Road, Teresa brings her worldwide experiences in songwriting and her outstanding vocals to the mix. Jaron Freeman-Fox adds his expertise as a musician and producer to make this CD one of the gems of 2013. A genuine musical journey worth exploring!! Brilliant; worthy of worldwide acclaim!”
— Jim Marino, Freewheeling Folk Show 93.3 CFMU, Hamilton, ON
“‘There’s beauty and plenty for all,’ sings Teresa Doyle in her accomplished and life-affirming new album, Song Road, a line that also aptly describes the disc itself.”
— John Goddard, Toronto Star
“Working with Jaron Freeman-Fox has brought a new vibrancy to the already exquisite sound that Teresa has created in previous recordings. Teresa has always had great production but the production and arranging on Song Road by Freeman-Fox is the finest to date—production that is meaningful and beautifully serves the music. Teresa is always upping her game, her songwriting is digging deeper with worldly influences that go well beyond the Celts.”
— Tom Coxworth, CKUA Folk Routes
Doyle’s eleven recordings on her label, Bedlam Records, have met with critical acclaim at home in the Maritimes, across North America, Europe and Japan. This body of work has garnered numerous awards including three ECMAs, two JUNO nominations and the 2007 Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for music, awarded to one Canadian musician to reward excellence in mid-career.
“Your CD was my absolute favorite of the many things I collected at the North American Folk Alliance this year. I like it immensely—it is a beautiful record and you should be proud of it.”
— Cheryl McEnaney, U.S. Label Manager, Real World Records
Doyle has attracted listeners at countless festivals and concert venues including: The Mariposa, Winnipeg and Vancouver Folk Festivals, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the 92nd Street ‘Y’ in Manhattan, England’s Salisbury Art Centre, Sound Symposium, and The Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. She has two symphony collaborations to her credit and has performed with folk legends Stan Rogers and The Chieftans. Doyle has recorded with some of Canada’s finest musicians: Oliver Schroer, Mike Murley, David Travers-Smith, David Woodhead, Ben Grossman, Doug Riley, Rich Greenspoon, Ian Toms, Jamie Gatti, Jaron Freeman-Fox, and others. She gives voice workshops in Canada, Mexico, the U.S. and Ireland.
“With both a flexible and distinctive vocal range, Doyle effortlessly carves a niche as one of the most innovative interpreters of Canadian folk songs.”
— Rock And Reel, England
“Sitting listening to a near packed house performance by Teresa was one of my most memorable Hugh’s Room concerts and I’ve attended about 2500 of them. It was like she brought the island with her in a music box and opened it up for all to share. Magic!”
— Holmes Hooke, Booking, Hugh’s Room
“Traditional celtic, folk, jazz, country, Teresa can sing it all, with a voice pure as sunshine. I just saw Teresa’s Hugh’s Room show and she hit it out of the park!”
— Derek Andrews, globalcafe.ca
Music from Doyle’s label, Bedlam Records, is distributed in Canada by Outside Music, in the U.S. by Allegro and online and online at through iTunes and Bandcamp. Her music appears on more than a dozen compilations including three collections by Putumayo World Music in New York and three projects with Rough Guide in the U.K. with releases around the globe.
Arts Education
Arts Education has always been a strong focus for Teresa throughout her career. She skills as both a performer and a teacher are welcomed at folk festivals and in schools. It is her belief that everyone should sing and that teaching children to sing at a young age is critical. Teresa has studied voice with many teachers. Her first lesson was with Odette at a folk festival in The Yukon. She is currently enrolled in a three year course of study with South Indian singer Russill Paul. She also believes that singing music from other cultures fosters peace and understanding.
Here is a brief summary of her work as an educator:
- started working in primary schools in the 1980s with a clowning/gymnastics/music troupe.
- founded the Prince Edward Island Summer Children’s festival at Beaconsfield Historic Site in Charlottetown.
- performed at Canada’s largest children’s festivals including Toronto and Winnipeg.
- released three award Celtic albums for children garnering two East Coast Music Awards, two JUNO nominations, Parent’s Choice Recommended and an American Library Award.
- won the 2007 Martyn Lynch-Staunton award, a $15,000 cash prize granted annually to one Canadian musician to recognize excellence in mid-career.
- started the Boys and Girls of Bedlamb, a children’s chorus now in its fifteenth year. The mandate of the chorus is to teach children a repertoire of more than fifty songs in many languages from oral traditions around the world.
- performed for children in New York City on a tour organized by Putumayo World Records, including an appearance at the legendary 92nd St ‘Y.’
- performed If Fish Could Sing Celtic show for children in hundreds of shows from Whitehorse to Labrador over the last two decades.
- licensed tracks from children’s recording to three Putumayo compilations released in thirty countries worldwide.
- recently licensed a Gaelic song from her lullaby album, Cradle on the Waves, to Rough Guide in the U.K.
- has presented singing workshops for adults across Canada, in Mexico, Boulder, Colorado, and Dublin, Ireland.
- most recently gave a singing workshop to a high school choir in Calgary Alberta with special focus on vocal production for singing folk music.
- has a deep love of improvised singing and enjoys sharing this passion with people of all ages.